The Path Of Time
by Lionheart1
Summary: Four years after the game. Things were pretty normal until the disappearance of Rinoa. A new war is starting, protests have started over the new Sorceress, and Squall's finding it hard to chose between SeeD and his personal life. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter One Twisted Meeting

Authors note: Hey there! Since I'm coming up to my third year on FanFiction I realised that I have only actually written one story based on the actual ff8 game (for those who don't know me, I'm an AU writer). So yeah, I thought I'd have another go! Also, for those of you who have every read 'Tears Of Forever', I'm going to have a break from that for a while as I've been having problems with the story and find it extremely difficult to write. Reviews and constructive criticism will be appreciated. Thank you for your time and Happy reading!

The Path of time

Chapter One

_I metamorphasize  
__The darkness has been biding its time  
__To claim its latest victim  
__Fresh meat for carnal desires  
__To become what I became  
__I viewed the sun for the last time_

**Atreyu- The Crimson**

The halls of Balamb Garden were busy as usual. The student's heavy footsteps and rumble of their conversations could be heard throughout the Garden. It was a cold day so many of the students tried to stay inside for warmth, but a few of them went out on the grounds outside. Squall could see them below through the window of his office; he didn't care though, for his thoughts were far from worrying about the students or the Garden.

He spent most days in his office. It was the one place where he knew people would leave him alone, unless he was really needed. People tended to avoid him anyway, not sure how to approach him. His friends were there, but they always had that look of sympathy in their eyes as they tried to comfort him. He didn't need comforting though. As long as he kept busy his mind wouldn't think back to those thoughts that crept upon him at every given opportunity.

Cid always seemed reluctant to allow him to do a lot of work, he thought that he should take a short break and have time to himself. Eventually he just accepted that this was Squall's way of dealing with things. He couldn't rest until he found out exactly what had happened. Until he had found her.

It had been four years since the defeat of Ultimecia. Three of those four years had been good for Squall. He was a different person now; he felt he could open up to people. Even now, after everything that had happened he felt that he had friends he could rely on. He even thought that he loved someone. His relationship with Rinoa had developed slowly, but he knew that he never wanted to lose her. Even after she started to change.

At first it was just little things. She took more of an interest into SeeD. He thought that maybe she was getting involved to be closer to Squall, his work was important which meant that some days he hardly saw Rinoa. But eventually she seemed to be less bothered about Squall and more interested in world affairs. In the end she hardly ever looked him in the eye, he couldn't even get her to smile anymore unless it was something to do with SeeD. She seemed to lose everything that made her Rinoa. Eventually she seemed to be just another SeeD, from all the knowledge she had acquired over the months.

He remembered the last day he spent with her. He was surprised to see that she wanted to spend the day with him; usually she only came when she wanted to know what he was doing in his work. But on this day she said she wanted to be with him, and away from all of his military work. She even smiled, which made him think that it had all been just a phase she was going through. Maybe she had been pretending to be interested all along, just to please Squall. He was never sure.

They spent the day in Balamb, and for the first time in months nothing ever came up about SeeD. She seemed to be back to her usual carefree self. That evening they had a meal together. She said that she was sorry for the last few months and that things were going to change between them. He remembered the candlelight casting a glow on her face, enhancing her features as she smiled. She was beautiful. Her eyes were so full of emotion, something that he hadn't seen within her for such a long time. He told her he loved her then and they spent the night together. When he woke up the next morning she was gone.

As soon as he saw that she wasn't there he felt that there was something wrong. Logic could have told him that perhaps she had left during the night, but there was no logic. A feeling deep within him told him that she was far away from Balamb. Without a word she never come back. It had been six months since that lonely morning, and nobody knew where she was. Yet in recent months he had heard people discussing one of his biggest fears. There had been a few sightings of her, but they were always at the scene of recent attacks in the world.

A new war was starting. There had been a lot of talk about a new Sorceress recently. Some people claimed to have been attacked or lost their loved ones by a Sorceress. And everybody knew that the only Sorceress was Rinoa. His biggest fear was starting to come true. What if she was planning to attack SeeD? Just like Adel and Ultimecia went corrupt, perhaps it was starting to happen to Rinoa. The thought of it scared him. Which was why he hid in his office most of the time. He had become a coward. He knew that some people never had agreed with his relationship with Rinoa. A Sorceress and a SeeD should never be together. He saw that look in their eyes as they made their way down the corridors in Balamb Garden. And he was no longer wanted to face their stare, because he was afraid that they were true.

Looking down out of his office window he watched the students standing in groups. Chatting together as if nothing mattered. He hated feeling being helpless. The feeling grew bigger everyday. He found it difficult to distract himself with work now, his fears were too big. Rinoa was killing him. Letting out a sigh, he moved away from the window and collapsed in his chair, placing his head in his hands he tried to think of nothing.

A knock on the door startled him. He considered ignoring it, but thought that he wouldn't make himself feel any better by being alone. "Come in," he said, lifting his head up and trying to look like he was busy sorting through paper work. He didn't want people to think that he wasn't coping. He heard the door open, and he looked up to see Quistis walking towards his desk. She smiled briefly, one of those sympathetic smiles that he hated. He busied himself back into his work.

Quistis looked down at her former student. He looked tired like he had hardly slept, but it wasn't surprising. Everyone was worried about Rinoa, but Squall had taken it the hardest. He still didn't want to accept that Rinoa was behind all of the recent attacks. She gave a small cough to try and get his attention as he went through the piles of paper on his desk. He stopped and looked up at her with his tired eyes. The look didn't help her, she felt nervous as it was. "I have some news," she said playing with her hands, "… about Rinoa."

Squall felt himself stop breathing at the mention of her name. He saw that Quistis didn't look her usual self, like she was holding something back. She looked uncomfortable. "What's happened?" he asked.

"There's been another attack," she started awkwardly, "It's one of the base camps for the Galbadian Army, there are SeeD's there now guarding the building. She's locked herself in one of the rooms, they're on guard waiting until she leaves."

"Take me there," Squall said standing up abruptly, reaching for his gunblade. His hand hesitated a moment before the handle. What if he had to kill her? Then he grabbed it, trying to shut off his feelings. He would only use it as a last resort. Turning around, Squall found himself face to face with a distressed looking Quistis.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to," she said, feeling stupid. Of course he would want to go, she had been missing for six months. His gaze told Quistis her thoughts. "Just remember that she _is _dangerous. She may not be the same person she once was."

"I know," Squall said coolly. "Just take me there."

Letting out an exhausted sigh, she led Squall outside to where the rest of the group were sorting weapons before making their way onto the Ragnarok. The journey was long and torturous for all five of them. The silence progressed through the whole of the journey, as none of them knew what could be said to make the moment any better. They could be killing their friend today. That thought stayed with them.

* * *

There was a constant humming sound in the distance. It grew louder and quieter every so often, as if it was spinning around her. Tormenting her. From behind tightly closed eyes she could sense lights shining through the window above her. Why were they here? Couldn't they just leave her alone?

She hugged her legs tighter, it seemed to be the only comfort she could get at that moment. She didn't dare open her eyes. The last time she did she screamed and cried until her throat went to dry and sore that she could no longer make a sound. The images still made her shudder, sending tremors down her spine as she silently cried in the darkness. She felt like a child. Frightened and afraid in the corner, as she heard voices of people outside the room. They kept shouting things at her, but she was too tired and confused to understand what they were saying.

Where was she? She couldn't remember anything, only waking up and seeing the horrible room. Another shudder went through her as the images came back, and for a moment she felt like she was going to vomit. Stop it, she told herself. She tried to think once more. Where _was _she? Some more images came into her mind, but this time it wasn't from the room. It was somewhere else, but they were just as bad. _Blood_. So much blood.

She started getting more memories back. More torture and blood. She felt herself cry harder, drenching her cheeks once more as she heard herself weeping in her faint voice. "Why am I here?" she whispered to herself, whilst hugging her legs even tighter. Her arms were aching but she didn't care, the pain distracted her from everything else around her.

"Why am I here?" she repeated once more, this time a little louder. Her mouth was so dry, it felt like sandpaper. Still she repeated the words over and over again, like it was some sort of chant that was going to make her remember. She only remembered the blood.

She heard shouting once more. They were calling to her, but she couldn't make out the words. "Why am I here?" she repeated louder, hoping that they would hear. Perhaps the people outside were looking for her. Maybe they didn't know that she was here. She wanted to call for help, but it felt like she could only say one thing. "Why am I here?" she shouted it this time. It hurt her throat even more.

Her arms began to throb from holding so tightly onto her legs. They felt itchy; the once warm sticky liquid had now dried and began to flake on her skin. She could feel it clotting together in her hair and down her clothes as well. If she wasn't so afraid she would try to find somewhere where she could wash it off, but she was trapped inside this morbid room. She wanted to scream again, but knew she couldn't.

"Why am I here?" she continued to whisper.

* * *

Eventually Ragnarok landed down, and they found themselves near a large building in a desert. The tall building was surrounded by many armed SeeD's rushing in and out of the building. A helicopter was flying around in circles, surrounding the building with its light shining inside the many windows of the building. It was starting to get dark now, but time didn't matter, just as long as he found Rinoa.

Looking around, Squall was surprised to see that there were already students from Balamb present. It made him wonder just how long this had been kept from him. Just ahead of him he could see Nida approaching, giving orders out to other SeeD members as he went. Upon seeing Squall he looked a little startled, Squall figured that perhaps he wasn't supposed to be here.

"Where's Rinoa?" Squall asked as Nida made his way towards them.

"It's too late. She's locked herself in a room, I'm just about to give the order for the SeeD's up there to go inside," he gave Squall a sympathetic look. The kind of look that he had had to live with for the last six months. "Sorry Squall."

Angered, Squall grabbed Nida by his jacket. He hadn't come all this way for nothing, and he wasn't going to let Rinoa get killed for something that seemed impossible for her to do. Not _his _Rinoa. She would never kill anyone. "Tell me where she is," Squall said, glaring at Nida.

He felt Zell grab him from behind, trying to stop Squall before he did something stupid. "Hey man, calm down," Zell started. "This isn't helping anyone."

It took all of Squall's will to let go of Nida; he wasn't going to back down. He _needed _to see her. Even if it was just to see with his own eyes what she had become.

Irvine looked at Nida "Just take us to where she is, Squall might be able to help," he offered "She might not attack if Squall's there."

Nida gave Irvine a doubtful glance, but accepted his offer anyway. "Very well," he said, "I suppose it's worth a try. Come with me."

He gestured for the group to follow him and led him inside the military base camp. Walking up a flight of steps, Squall noticed that the building was heavily guarded with SeeD's from all three Gardens. He suddenly realised just how serious this mission was. All three Gardens specialised in different styles of fighting, it was very rare that the SeeD's from different Garden's would work together, even on an important mission.

The building was quite dull; a lot of the lights in the hallways had been smashed. Many of the rooms he could see into had its entire interior damaged. Some of the rooms had badly injured soldiers inside which were being healed by SeeD's. Eventually Squall felt the need to stop looking, he didn't want to see any more damage caused.

Finally they approached another area heavily guarded by more SeeD's. A group of them were crowded outside a door. As they made their way towards the group Squall saw one of the SeeD's open a box on the floor, which when opened revealed a small crystal inside. Squall studied it for a moment.

"Dr Odine made it," Nida said, seeing Squall's interest. "When it touches a Sorceress' skin it is supposed to block them from being able to use their magic, but it will only be temporary. We plan to use it if she puts us in danger." He turned to the SeeD who was in charge of the crystal, "You understand what you need to do?"

The SeeD nodded his head before saluting. "Yes sir"

Turning away from the SeeD's, Nida faced Quistis. "I'm sorry, but I think it's best if only Squall goes inside, just in case something goes wrong. It's only a small room and we don't want it too crowded in there."

Quistis nodded her head in understanding; she knew that dealing with a Sorceress could be dangerous. "That's fine." She watched silently as Nida turned back to the SeeD's giving them his final orders. At the side of her she could see Selphie looking very pale. She had hardly spoken all day, which was very unlike Selphie. "Are you okay?"

Selphie's gaze fell to the ground, as she played with her hands. "Rinoa's really in there isn't she?" she looked back up to Quistis, a look of sorrow within her eyes. She watched as the blonde woman nodded silently, the reality of the day sinking in. Feeling an arm wrap around her side, Selphie looked up to see Irvine beside her and forced a smile.

"They won't attack her unless they need to," he said, realising that his words couldn't hep the matter any more.

"I don't want her to die," the brunette said looking down to the ground once more, "Even if she did do all that bad stuff, we can help get her back to normal can't we?"

"I hope so, Selphie," Quistis said giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

Nida finished giving out his orders and turned back to Squall. "When the door opens, the SeeD's will go inside to make sure that it is safe for you. Then you'll come inside with me and can try to talk some sense into her. You'll have five minutes, no more. If she tries to harm you then get out of the room. You understand?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Nida turned to one of the SeeD's near the door. He was very tall and muscular with spiky black hair; he was carrying a large axe to break into the room. Nida signalled with a nod of his head and the SeeD started smashing the axe through the door. It seemed an agonisingly long time before they got through. Squall could feel his pulse racing as he stood silently with the rest of the group.

Eventually the door was forced open, and the first SeeD's made their way through the doorway with their weapons ready. As soon as the door was properly open Squall felt overwhelmed by the stench that came out. It was the smell of burning flesh.

"We can go in now," Nida said behind Squall. They stepped through the doorway and inside the room. Instantly Squall had to stop in his tracks to try and prevent himself from vomiting. The room was dull with blood spilled all over the walls and floor. He saw crimson handprints around the room, and then the charred bodies on the floor. There were about ten of them, all swollen and disfigured. The smell was so much worse inside the room.

"What the hell happened here?" Nida said whilst putting the sleeve of his SeeD jacket over his nose and mouth. The air was thick. It was a constant battle to stop the bile rising out of his mouth.

Clearing his mind, Squall looked around the grim room to where he saw a group of SeeD's in the corner. They were crowded around something. As he approached, one of the SeeD's moved to let him inside. In the corner of the room was another dead body. This one was a woman's, she wasn't burnt like the rest of them, but she was covered in blood. The woman's body shuddered. No. She wasn't dead at all. He stopped still for a moment; he could hear a soft whispering.

"Why am I here? Why am I here? Why am I here?"

Crouching down in the blood-drenched floor, Squall crouched down next to the raven-haired girl. Her hair was covering her face, but he already knew who it was, and the sight of her like this made his heart sink.

"Rinoa?" Squall said, suddenly forgetting that she was a threat. She was covered in blood, he was afraid that she might have hurt herself. He reached out and touched her cold skin. It immediately tensed up and her repetitive question stopped midway. "Rinoa, it's me"

She didn't move. He could hear her heavy breathing becoming faster. "I know you've done a lot of bad things, but we can sort everything out," he knew his words probably sounded pathetic, but he wanted to calm her and talk to her. She was shivering from the cold. He tried to put his arm around her, but she reacted violently by hitting and scratching at his face.

He felt a stinging pain on his face but ignored it. For the first time in six months he could see her face. It was paler than he remembered, and her eyes were kept closed. It was only for a second that she revealed her features, before she hid them once more under her arms and retreated further in the corner. Looking around at the many corpses around the room he suddenly felt sick. "She's been trapped inside here," Squall said more to himself that anyone else around him.

"She could still be a danger," one of the SeeD's said aiming his gun at her.

"Does she look like a danger to you?" Squall snapped, "Just get her out of here."

Nobody moved. For a moment there was silence, and then Nida finally came forward, "He's right, get her out of here."

The next few moments were the most painful as Squall watched as two of the SeeD's dragged Rinoa away. She seemed to not know where she was. Whenever someone touched her she tried to attack them just so that they would leave her alone. Eventually she had to be carried away, kicking and screaming. Squall followed as they carried her away into one of the SeeD cars.

"We're going to take her to Esthar where she will be kept in an area where we know she won't be able to use her magic, just in case she's biding her time," Nida said to Squall.

"Let me go with her," Squall said solemnly.

"It's out of my hands Squall, I can't let you go," Nida tried to explain. "You can make your own way there tomorrow, for now we need to make sure she isn't of any danger."

Squall watched as Nida stepped inside the SeeD car and drove off carrying Rinoa inside. Feeling helpless once more, Squall made his way to an area that was quiet as almost everywhere was surrounded with SeeD's. On the way he past Quistis and his other friends who stood outside in silence. They had watched in shock as Rinoa was dragged into the SeeD car. He wasn't in the mood to talk to any of them. Ignoring them he made he way around the other side of the building. There weren't many people around this area.

Suddenly feeling ill, he vomited on the ground, feeling relief spread through his body as he did. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and sat on the ground looking up into the sky. It was dark now, and he finally knew where Rinoa was.


	2. Chapter Two The Decision

The Path Of Time

Chapter Two

_Cast me gently_  
_Into morning  
__For the night has been unkind  
__Take me to a place so holy  
__That I can wash this from my mind  
__The memory of choosing not to fight_

**Sarah McLachlan - Answer**

The sky was covered in crimson and gold as the sun was beginning to rise. It was morning now. The once crowded field of land had begun to get emptier as the night had continued. For the remainder of the night they had to search the rest of the base camp. Finding injured soldiers and many more corpses lying helplessly in a pool of blood. Their bodies limp and lifeless, presenting just how much damage had been caused by one person. A person that was supposed to be a friend and a lover.

The brunette landed heavily as she sat on the ground cross-legged. It had been a long night with no time to rest. There was too much going through her mind at the moment to even think about sleep. She had gone deeper inside the building, just like many of the other SeeD's around. She had tried to cure many of the soldiers found, but most of them were too seriously injured or already dead. It was a night that would stay with her for a long time. It was disturbing; she couldn't imagine anyone being able to do such a thing. It had been as if there had been a fire, all of the corpses found were charred and the people who had survived had been badly burnt, yet there was no evidence of there being a fire. The interior was badly damaged, yet nothing was burning when they entered.

Letting out a long sigh, the young woman looked up to the sky, wondering how long this night would last. There were still a lot of people left inside the large base, some of them trapped beneath parts of the building that had collapsed. Outside the building were tents which had many of the wounded inside. A group of medics from the Garden's and from Deling City had come to help. The dead were placed in long rows outside on the grass, and to Selphie, that was the most disturbing part.

Feeling a presence beside her, she turned her head to see the tall cowboy looking down upon her. She smiled slightly, then turned back to the sky, the only place she could seem to look at which didn't remind her of what was happening. It looked tranquil, making her feel slightly better. She felt Irvine sit down next to her, heard a small sigh escape his lips, and knew that he was feeling that same disturbance inside him as she did.

"Any news?" she asked, not expecting to hear anything new.

"We've almost cleared the building now," Irvine said, looking out into the distance. "All of the injured are out now anyway, they're soon going to be taken to the nearest hospital in Deling City."

Selphie felt a surge of desolation run through her; most of the people brought to the hospital probably weren't going to survive. Shrugging the thought away, she searched her mind for something that didn't remind her of all the mangled bodies she had seen within the walls of the building. "How is Squall?" she asked, suddenly feeling concerned. She had not seen him since they had retreated from the camp with Rinoa. In her mind she could still hear Rinoa's desperate screams and aggressive manner whilst being dragged out.

Irvine shrugged, "He hasn't been seen since Rinoa left. I think Quistis went to find him though," he let out another sigh. "Must be tough on him."

"It feels as if something like this could only be done by a monster," she said after a long pause of silence, looking in the distance to where the rows of corpses were kept. She hugged her arms around herself, not sure if it was the cold breeze or the thought of her friend doing such a thing. She looked at Irvine, his usual confident gaze now replaced by a more distant look.

Irvine turned to Selphie and gave her a small smile; although it took all of his will to make the gesture. He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You okay?" he asked, suddenly feeling the need to talk about anything but what had happened.

She nodded her head, but he could see in her eyes that she wasn't. She changed the subject. "I got to see some of my friends from Trabia," she said feeling another surge of emotions run over her. She stayed silent for a moment, turning her eyes to the soothing colours in the sky. "I want to go home," she spoke, almost in a whisper, feeling guilty at the same time.

Irvine looked at her with concern, "I do too Selphie, and we will soon. They don't really need us at the moment anyway."

She turned to him, shaking her head. "I mean _home, _Irvine. Back in Trabia," her last words trailed off and she looked down to the ground feeling like a child that had been caught doing something bad. She played with the blades of grass between her fingertips. "Trabia's in trouble… financially. That's the reason why they agreed to help out with this mission, so that they would get some more money."

"That's why you want to go back?" Irvine said, placing an arm around her.

Selphie looked up at him, "They've had money problems since they had to rebuild, even with all of the donations." She pulled a handful of grass from the ground. "I couldn't stop the missiles hitting them in time, but I want to go back so that I can help them now. What if they have to shut Trabia down?"

"When we get back you should talk to Cid, he can organize a transfer," Irvine said. He knew that she still blamed herself for the missile attack, even after four years. "I'll come with you if you want."

Selphie smiled, the first real smile since the news of the base camp had aroused. "It's a nice thought" she said, her voice taking a more serious tone, "but I have duties in Balamb too. What about Rinoa? I don't want to feel like I'm running away or abandoning anyone."

"You're not," he said, turning his gaze back out to the remaining group of SeeD's working. "There's nothing we can do at the moment anyway. She's been sent to Esthar to be looked after until we really know what happened. It's out of our control until we know everything."

"I want to be there for her though, just in case something bad happens," she felt torn between her two Garden's, not really sure which was the right choice. It took her a while before she convinced herself. "I guess Quistis will let me know if something happens, so that I can come back." She looked back over to the horizon to see SeeD's dragging out more bodies, the sight bringing her back to the reality of the past day.

* * *

It took a while before she managed to find him. There were so many groups of SeeD around; it seemed impossible to find anyone. Eventually she came to the other side of the camp that was almost empty save a few people. Sat on the ground in the distance she saw a lone man and immediately knew who it was. It seemed that recently he had regressed back into the quiet and reserved student she had once known.

He didn't speak to anyone about how he felt, not since Rinoa had disappeared. Most days he spent his time inside his office, unsure of where his lover was. But now things were different. They all knew where she was. The attacks where all rumors before, victims had described Rinoa, but they never actually had any proof until today. Rinoa wasn't the same person anymore, and Quistis knew that Squall was suffering, just like the rest of them.

Squall didn't even notice when she approached him, he was too lost in his own thoughts to hear her, even when she called his name. The same questions where running through his mind. How had he let this happen? Was it his fault that she was like this? The thoughts were torturous, eating away at him after all this time, and today it only seemed to make everything so much worse. _I should be with her now, _he thought to himself. Why did he not insist to go with Nida? They would probably be there now. The doctors would be using her as if she were a test animal, taking advantage of her state so they could develop their research. The thought made him feel ill.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, her touch trying to comfort him, but nothing could help him in his present state of mind. Not until he saw _her. _He felt like telling Quistis to go away, but instead gave her a quick glance before standing up and facing her. "Are there any new orders?" he asked.

Quistis shook her head, "No," she said gently, looking up at Squall. "Once you're ready, we can make our way back to Garden. The Galbadia Government will sort out everything now." After four years of gradual change, she saw that Squall could not hide the sadness within his eyes. She could see the desperate look in his face, of course he did not want to go back to Garden, he wanted to be somewhere else. "Or… we could take you to Esthar," she said, knowing that it was what he really wanted. There was a silence that followed; she saw that he was in deep thought, more than likely wondering what would be the best thing to do. He wanted to go, but he also had duties in Balamb.

"Okay, I'll let the others know we're going to Esthar," she said with a smile.

He looked at her, and for the first time in his life he was grateful that Quistis understood him. "Thank you," he said before she turned and walked away to look for the rest of the group. For a moment he considered if it was the right thing to do, then quickly cast the thought away. He had to be there for Rinoa now, it didn't matter what had happened to her, he just needed to be there.

Eventually they made their way back onto Ragnarok, and took the long journey to Esthar. The trip was silent, as none of them had slept during the last twenty-four hours, yet there was too much at hand to think about rest. It seemed that nobody wanted to speak, all lost in their own thoughts and uncertainty of what had happened within the last day. They had all agreed to take Squall to Esthar, and then returned to Balamb without him. They said a quick goodbye and made sure that he keep in contact at his departure.

Upon their arrival, Cid stood at the entrance the to greet them. He looked just as exhausted as they did, evidently not having much sleep from the sudden news of the day before. He had been worried about the disappearance of Rinoa, and had tried to search for her during the previous six months. His aging face smiled at them as they returned, "It's nice to see you're back safe," he said looking at the group, for he had already heard of the brutal killings. "Where's Squall?" he asked realising that he was missing.

"Esthar," Quistis responded. "I thought it would be best if he went, I'm sorry."

Cid shrugged away the apology, "I thought as such," he said with a slight smile that quickly disintegrated into a more concerned look. "Nida contacted me from Esthar this morning. I hear that Rinoa is not in a good state, she won't interact with anyone, maybe it's best if Squall was there with her."

"You've heard from Esthar?" Selphie asked, curious to hear more news about what had happened since they had left.

"Only briefly," Cid said observing the four young SeeD's in front of him. "Maybe it's best if you all get some rest, we'll discuss what to do tomorrow morning." He nodded to the group before returning inside Garden to his office.

The group departed back to their dorms. Quistis tried to rest, but found that it only made her think more about everything that had happened. Getting off her bed, she made her way out of her dorm, suddenly feeling the need to talk to someone. Making her way up to the second floor, she found Xu in one of the classrooms.

She smiled at seeing Quistis. "You look tired," she said, feeling concerned for her friend.

"I haven't slept," Quistis said honestly "I couldn't sleep."

"How was the mission?" Xu asked, piling up the papers scattered on her desk.

"Horrible," Quistis responded, trying her hardest to fight back the tears that had been threatening to come since she had returned to Garden. She was tired and felt troubled by what she had seen at the camp. "Squall's gone to Esthar to be with Rinoa, I'm not sure what is going to happen with her. She attacked Galbadian Soldiers; I really hope that it isn't a death penalty. I just feel so useless at the moment" Quistis said with an irritated sigh.

Xu placed a hand on Quistis' shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "I'm sure you've done all you can for now," she said eyeing the younger woman. "All you can do now is wait until Cid gets more information from Esthar."

Quistis nodded her head, "You're right," she said "I should leave it until tomorrow."

"Go back to your dorm, Quistis. Get some rest." Xu gave a small smile, as she saw Quistis give in to her exhaustion. She knew that this was a hard time for Quistis, and a lot of other people at Garden, yet Xu feared deep down that the Galbadian Government would not be so kind to Rinoa. The young Sorceress had killed many of their soldiers, and that was something that could not be erased. It also hurt Xu to see people suffer, but she knew that was the reality of the situation, and she knew that Quistis was aware of that fact too.

_Authors note: Sorry if it sucked, but bear with me! It should get better in the future chapters. Helpful criticisms and advice will be welcome! Thank you, especially to those who reviewed: FloralBlackMoon, lady-rinoa and IttanMomen. Thank you!_


	3. Chapter Three Rising Sun

The Path Of Time

Chapter Three

_Promises of a better life  
__But what's wrong with the one I'm leading  
__Everyone has a different fight  
__A different wound that keeps them bleeding_

**Smile Empty Soul- Your Way**

The morning was just as solemn as the previous day. More students in Balamb were starting to find out about what had happened to the Galbadian cadets. Staring out at the horizon, she watched as the droplets of rain made their way down to the ground, covering the pavement with dots a darker shade of grey. It was starting to rain. She didn't seem to mind though; the weather was a distraction away from the tension growing inside of Garden. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself as the cool air blew gently through her long wisps of hair.

She had hardly slept that night, her mind being too active to allow her the simple luxury. Her eyes felt heavy; she knew that she looked as exhausted as she felt; yet today she didn't care. It was a stressful time for a lot of people. It made her wonder about Squall. About what he would be doing at the moment. Would he be with Rinoa? She worried about the lack of information that had been given to them since they had arrived the previous day. The feelings of anxiety was like a small ball knotted within the pit of her stomach, it was a weight that she seemed to be carrying around with her, making her feel hindered.

A small droplet of rain made its way down her forehead, she wiped it away quickly and turned on her heels to return back inside Garden. Turning around, she almost walked into another woman nearby. She stopped in her tracks looking down at the brunette who was adjusting her balance having almost been knocked over by Quistis. "Sorry Selphie," Quistis appologised.

The small woman smiled slightly, showing that she was all right. "It's okay," she responded in her usual cheery tone, obviously feeling better than the previous day. "I just came to tell you that Cid wants to see us all in his office to discuss about what happened…" she trailed off, and for a moment sadness flashed in her eyes.

"You okay?" Quistis asked quietly, as she saw Selphie's gaze drop to the floor.

She nodded her head silently before looking back up towards Quistis. "You should also know that I'm leaving Garden for a while, to help Trabia," she said. "They're having financial problems, and I want to help them. Cid said that it would be a good thing for me to go and help them out," she explained after seeing her friend's shocked glance.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise…"

Selphie smiled for a moment "It was Irvine who talked me into going," she said, feeling slightly happier. "It was all short notice really, I'm surprised I'm able to go so soon."

"I'm happy for you," Quistis said, for she knew how much Trabia meant to Selphie. "And Irvine…?" she asked curious.

"He's going with me too, but only for four weeks." Selphie looked up to the sky as the rain began to fall heavier. "Maybe we should get going to see Cid," she responded, before the two made their way inside.

* * *

The man sat impatiently in the small room. He had been stuck in the waiting room for almost an hour, and his patience was running low. There was too much happening for him to be wasting time to wait around, even if it was for the president. The man stood up out of the leather chair looking around the room. It was an elegant room that consisted of two leather sofas and an oak coffee table in between. Around the walls were paintings hung delicately between a large bookshelf and cabinets. It was a room owned by someone only with expensive taste.

Making his way to the window, the man looked out over the horizon where he could see the many houses and streets of Deling City. He knew that it must be an important meeting to have been invited into the Presidents home, yet it irritated him at having to be stuck alone in a room with no information about the long delay. The meeting was supposed to be over already.

Eventually he heard the click of the door from behind him. Turning to look over his shoulder, he saw a tall slender woman with long chestnut hair enter into the room. She was smartly dressed in a suit jacket and skirt. One of the Presidents secretaries. She smiled as she stood at the entrance of the doorway. "President Deling is ready to see you now," she said leading him out of the door.

The man looked at the woman a moment. President Deling had died four years ago now; it was his son, Richard Deling that had taken on the role of being the new President, even though many of the citizens of the country had disagreed after what had happened to his father. Richard Deling was more intelligent though, although the family relation had put a stain on his reputation. It had led him into a democracy in which he had to work a lot harder to gain people's trust. The mistakes of Vinzer Deling made were still lurking within the country.

Following the young woman down a long corridor, she eventually stopped to knock on a door. There was a faint mumble of a male voice, before she opened the door open for the man to enter inside. "General Caraway is here to see you now," she said as he entered, before exiting the room.

The President stood up from his office chair to greet the General. "I'm glad you could come," he said holding out his hand.

"I was just starting to think that it was a wasted journey," he responded, reluctantly shaking his hand returning the gesture.

Richard Deling dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand. "I was busy sorting out something," he said moving around his office to take out a bottle of whisky and placed two glasses on his desk. "Would you like a drink?" he asked, already pouring the brown liqueur into one of the glasses.

Caraway shook his head. "I would like to know why you want me here," he said giving the President a cold glance. Although the President was idealistic, he was also young and inexperienced. He watched as Richard Deling gestured for Caraway to sit down, taking the glass in one hand as he also took a seat.

"I suppose you already know what happened to my cadets," the young President said swallowing a mouthful of the alcohol. "Some of them people could have been good Galbadian Soldiers you know."

Caraway sat quietly. He had heard everything about what had happened at the base camp, especially that his daughter was involved. The thought was like a needle sticking into his heart, but he quickly dismissed the thoughts realising that he had more important things to think about.

"I was told most of the living remaining from the accident probably wouldn't survive the week," he said without a drop of emotion visible in his voice. "This morning I find that a woman helped heal everyone in one night. She was a volunteer, not even a trained nurse, but she healed broken bones and bruises." He stopped briefly to let his information sink in, took another mouthful of whisky from his glass before starting to talk again. "You know as well as I do that even the most powerful para-magic can't do such things. She openly claims that she is a Sorceress. I spoke to her this morning, and she said she wants to help us."

Caraway's face stiffened slightly. "I hope you refused her offer."

The President smiled slightly. "I nearly did, but she gave a flowery speech on how people should accept Sorceress'. It's common knowledge that they live among us, with only a few of them showing their power. Why not give her a chance to prove herself?"

"You know what happened in the past," the General said, shocked at the President's idiocy at such a topic. "Even if people do accept her, what if she betrays us like before?"

President Deling finished off the contents of the glass, and poured himself another drink. "She's young and harmless. Times are changing anyway. Just because your daughter went on a rampage the other day doesn't meat that everyone else will." The President stopped suddenly, realising his words had cut deep from the piercing gaze he was receiving. "Sorry," he said curtly. "Her name is Eve, I'm meeting her tomorrow and I'd like you to come along as well."

The General glared at him a moment, still angry at his previous insensitivity, then let out a sigh. "Fine. Just don't give her too much power."

"She healed my army. Probably saved all of their lives." He said standing from his chair. "She'll be merely helping me to gain respect."

The two shook hands once more before Caraway was escorted out of President Deling's residence.

* * *

He had to get her. She wasn't safe here. It had only been moments earlier that he had left Ragnarok to be put in this beautiful city, but he didn't have time to admire it. He had one objective in his mind, blocking out any of his other thoughts. Only Rinoa mattered now. As Squall marched on, his mind thought of one place where she could be. Odine's laboratory.

Odine was banned from doing any experiments two years ago, it had been said that he had tried to test new experiments using humans as guinea pigs. The details had been kept secret, but since then Odine seemed to have disappeared. Not being able to do experiments probably caused him no reason to stay in Esthar. Squall was glad though, no matter how intelligent the man was, he could not trust him with Rinoa.

As he followed the path of the glass city, he stopped when he came close to a tall building. Rinoa would be in here, he was sure of it, for there were many Estharian soldiers surrounding the entrance of the building. Pressing a hand on his gunblade, Squall stepped forward to talk to one of the soldiers. "One of my colleagues told me to come here," he stated. "His name is Nida, and he's from Balamb Garden." Squall explained his situation and what had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

The Estharian soldier gave Squall a stern glance, "I'm sorry, I can't let you through. It's against my orders."

Squall gritted his teeth, trying to contain his anger. "I need to get through, it's important." The soldier refused his pleas. Squall took out his gunblade, placing the tip against the soldier's throat. "Let me in." He immediately regretted his last actions as a crowd of soldiers surrounded him, their weapons pointed in his direction.

It was then Squall saw a large man step outside the building. The man walked silently through the soldiers, and gently took hold of Squall's arm. He shook his head at the Estharian soldiers, before leading Squall inside the laboratory. Once inside, the man stared at the young SeeD a moment, before gesturing for him to follow as he led him down a long corridor. The interior was basic, with a sterilised white colour. The large man stopped outside a door, gesturing for him to go inside.

Squall stopped a moment, staring at the man. "Thank you, Ward," he said before entering inside.

The room was small, with a coffee table and a few chairs surrounding it. Nida was sat looking exhausted, his gaze looking momentarily out of the window before turning to Squall.

"Where's Rinoa?" Squall asked as the SeeD stood from his seat.

"She's being kept in a room where she can't harm anymore people," he said simply. "Don't worry though, she's being cared for by people who want to understand her. As long as she is here, she won't be hurt by the rest of the world"

Squall felt a small amount of relief spread over him. "Is she okay now?" he asked, thinking back to the way Rinoa had acted. He had never seen her like that before.

Nida shrugged, "I don't know, they won't let me see her," he looked at Squall briefly before turning back to the window. They spent a long moment of silence, waiting in the room until the door opened again.

A middle-aged man with a white lab coat on stepped into the room. "You must be Squall," he said looking at the unfamiliar face. "I'm Dr. Zain, your father put me in charge of looking after Rinoa." The man put his hand out in a polite gesture.

Squall stood still a moment, his father? The word still felt foreign to his mind, but over time he had grown to accept Laguna, even if he didn't like the idea. It surprised him that Laguna would get involved in such a dangerous job, for Esthar had lain dormant to the world for so long. Just like with Ultimecia, why get involved again? Squall reluctantly shook the doctors hand.

"Don't worry," he said, "We have no intention of hurting Rinoa."

Squall gave a curt nod of understanding. "Can I see her?" he asked.

The doctor stayed silent a moment as if pondering. "I suppose it can't hurt," he said, "I'm hoping that she might talk to you, because she has failed to respond to any of our doctors." He looked over at Nida. "You're welcome to return back to your Garden now, we can arrange transport if you wish."

"Thank you," Nida said, before looking over at Squall. "Good luck."

He watched as Nida left, before following the doctor into a room. It was filled with computers and machinery. There was a small group of scientists studying the computers as they entered. On the far side of the wall Squall saw a large window in which looked into another room. He stepped up to the glass and peered inside. He could see a room filled with only a single bed and a chair against one of the walls. On the bed sat a woman, she looked rigid, her midnight hair falling down her back. It was Rinoa. He wished her back were not facing him; he wanted to see her face. A part of him wished that it was the normal happy face he was so used to seeing, yet he knew that his wish would not be true.

"The room has an anti-magic field, not even a Sorceress could use her powers inside," Doctor Zain looked at Squall, "We just want to make sure that everyone is safe within this building, as well as her."

The young man beside him was silent, so he decided to continue. "We've started to monitor her heart and brain waves, it's just a procedure really, so that we can see if there is any disturbance inside her mind… another source which could have caused her to react the way she did."

"You think that she was possessed?" Squall asked.

The doctor gave a small sigh, "I think that it's unlikely, there is no evidence to suggest that she is possessed," he paused for a moment, "but it's difficult to determine as her powers lay dormant at the moment."

"What do you plan to do?"

"For the moment, we need to talk to her, if she was possessed then she would know. But she won't talk to us," he looked over at Squall, "We had to sedate her to calm her down, but even after that she would not respond. I think that seeing someone she knows might help. Would you be willing to help us?"

Squall nodded his head, suddenly feeling like he could trust the man who stood before him. He was led to an automatic door next to the glass window. It hissed open, and he stepped inside, a nervous feeling suddenly growing within his stomach as he thought back to the last time he had seen Rinoa. Her violent reaction. It made him shudder.

Walking over to the bed, he saw that she was no longer soaked in blood. She wore a loose pair of trousers and a short sleeved top, a red symbol could be seen on the clothes, obviously given by the laboratory. He slowly sat down next to her on the bed, yet her body showed no reaction to suggest that she had registered his presence. Her gaze stared ahead. It was the first time he had seen her eyes open, and it made his heart sink. Her eyes, usually so full of emotion, now showed nothing. They were just empty pools of coffee brown.

"I came back for you," Squall said, his voice seemed forbidden within the silence of the room. He could see pads stuck to her head and on other parts of her body; they were attached to a small machine beside her. She didn't speak. "Everyone is worried about you."

He glanced behind him to see a large mirror, realising that it was one-way glass he was looking through moments before. He knew that there would be people watching him as he spoke. The thought made him feel uncomfortable. He turned back to Rinoa, placing a hand on her arm slowly, not sure how she would react to the contact. He felt her tense up slightly at the touch, but she did not move. "I know that what you did wasn't your fault," Squall started, wanting to get her to speak to him. He wanted to hear her voice. "You just need to tell me who did this, and I promise we'll sort everything out."

He pushed her hair away from her face so that he could see her features properly. There were tears forming in her eyes, one made its path down her cheek. "Just let me know that you didn't do this," he said, wrapping an arm around her. She turned her head away from him, more tears staining her cheeks, and suddenly his world fell apart.

_Authors note: I tried to make it better this chapter, but I'm not sure if I succeeded. I hope everything made sense anyway. Thank you for your time!_


	4. Chapter Four Seeking Absolution

The Path Of Time

Chapter Two

"_Most people change kind of slowly. They're who they are and then after a while, they're someone else. But some people know the exact moment when their lives changed. They saw the person they were going to marry or the look in their baby's eyes the first time he smiled. For some people, it's not the good things in life that made them change. It's something they've gone through that makes everything they look at from that moment on seem very different from how it had always been."_

**Allie Keys (Steven Spielberg's _Taken_)**

She was nothing more than a child.

That was the first thought which entered the General's mind. He studied the girl for a moment, she had long scarlet hair that made it's way down her back, and her eyes were an emerald colour; he guessed that she was no older than twenty. President Deling had been right about one thing, he thought grimly, she _was _young and harmless. She looked innocent, so incapable of such powers that his colleague had described so strong the day before. Yet he knew from experience that he would not be fooled by her looks, he made it a priority to make sure that she did not get too much publicity.

The President walked forward, with the young Sorceress by his side, towards Caraway. "This is Eve," he said, beaming at the General. He turned to the young woman, "Eve, I'd like you to meet one of my best soldiers, this is General Fury Caraway."

The General forced a smile, holding out his hand in a polite gesture, "It's nice to finally meet you," he spoke, forcing kindness in his voice.

"I've heard a lot about you from the President," she spoke, her young voice hit Caraway's ears. "I appreciate what you and President Deling are doing for me." She shook his hand, smiling up at him all the time.

_I wasn't the one who trusted you, _Caraway thought to himself. Behind Eve he could see the President giving him a hard look, a look that he realised meant to go along with what she was saying. "It was the least we could do, you healed a lot of my army," he said with another forced smile. "And it's about time people stopped living in fear from Sorceress'."

"Yes…" she smiled, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "I heard about your daughter," she said, almost in a whisper. Her words were soft, but they sent a sharp pain to the pit of his stomach. He felt his heart sink slightly, the friendly shell he had built towards the girl now felt cracked. "I'm sorry. If the time comes, I will see if I can help her." She gave another warm smile.

"Thank you," he said gravely. _There's nothing you can do for my daughter. _

The President stepped forward, turning to Caraway. "I have business for you to attend," he said, taking on a more serious tone now that all the formalities were over. He realised that it was a big mistake allowing Caraway to meet Eve at such short notice. "I want you to go to Esthar. They're keeping Rinoa in Odine's laboratory, I want you to take your army there and bring the Sorceress to Deling City. She doesn't belong in Esthar."

For a brief moment Caraway saw a flash in the Presidents eyes. It was a look that his father once had. The hunger for power. It angered the General that he was already discussing such matters in front of a Sorceress. Eve stood looking uncomfortable between the two. He watched for a brief moment as she stared out a window, playing with her hands nervously, and then turned his gaze back onto the President. "Esthar agreed to take care of her, you know that."

"I also know what she did to my soldiers," he said callously. "Esthar have nothing to do with this. It's between the Sorceress and us. You know that as well as I do." His voice took on a slightly softer tone. "We all just want to establish what happened. She'll be less of a burden in Deling City."

The General nodded his head reluctantly. He knew that nothing he said would change the Presidents mind. He saluted, showing that he was willing to abide the mans orders.

"You are to go at dawn tomorrow," the President said. "Get your soldiers ready for then."

Caraway saluted once more, then exited President Deling's residence. He felt slightly nervous about the idea if taking his daughter. In the last four years he had seen Rinoa a few times. For a while they even developed a small bond together, he even made her smile like he used to be able to do on one occasion. However their relationship faltered when they had a disagreement. It seemed that over the last year without word from his daughter he had given up hope on ever being a father.

The day passed slowly. He briefed his soldiers on what their mission was and made preparations for the rest of the day. He knew that there would probably be a battle within the next twenty-four hours. He could sense that the Estharians would not give up a Sorceress that easy, no matter what the consequences.

By early evening he found himself with nothing to do, so decided to take an evening walk. He often did this when he felt troubled. He'd walk deep in his thoughts, usually finding himself stood at the foot of his wife's grave. The General stared down at the engraved letters delicately engraved in the marble stone. A part of him wished deep down that they would lose the battle tomorrow. He felt like his daughter was safer if she was kept far away from Deling City. Even though she was in a laboratory, he felt that even such conditions would be safer than having to face the consequences for her actions.

He wished that he knew what Rinoa was thinking. She had always been unpredictable, but to kill someone in cold blood? That was something that just seemed alien in his mind. How could she do something like that? He longed to hear news that it was not Rinoa that had caused all of the damage over the last few months, yet he knew that it would never happen. She was there in the building. Alone.

The General looked down at his wife's grave as if it held somewhere within it the answers of what was going through his mind.

"You shouldn't suffer like this."

Caraway turned around to the familiar voice. The tall slender blonde woman stood looking at him with a worried expression. The reason why Rinoa had stopped speaking to him.

"I'm not suffering," he said to his fiancé, turning away from the grave. "Have you been following me?"

Maya shook her head. "Richard told me about your mission tomorrow," she started. She was a close friend to the Deling family, although she was nothing like them. Since Richard Deling had become President, the Caraway had got to know her. She was a kind and understanding woman. She made him feel confident just by being with him. It seemed that Rinoa didn't feel the same about her when he told her the news. He only blamed himself though; he had kept the engagement from her. Rinoa had thought that they were simply close friends, and she wasn't too keen on the idea then either. It pained him to think that he lost his daughter over this woman. Maya took his arm as they walked out of the cemetery. "You don't have to go if you don't want to," she said softly.

She felt his arm stiffen slightly. "I must," he said, the previous thoughts returning to him once more.

* * *

The sun was shining through the gaps between the blinds, refracting the light as it hit the floor of the room and cast shadows across the bed. He had been by her side the whole night, and a part of her knew that she should be grateful. He could have left her or not even bothered to come in the first place with the perception that she was a corrupt Sorceress. She should be happy and grateful that he was here. But she wasn't. It only made things worse.

The guilt had enveloped her what seemed like aeons ago. She had been living in fear of herself for a long time, but that was not enough to stop her from doing everything. Her body ached for sleep as she lay on the bed. She hadn't slept for so long, deeply afraid of the dreams that haunted her. _If only they were dreams, _she thought to herself. They were real. Her guilt made sure that she never forgot what she had done. It was like a parent grabbing your hand and showing you what a mess you made when you drew on the walls. _Look at what you have done. _That was what her mind was telling her whenever she fell asleep. No, it was not going to give her the satisfaction of letting her rest peacefully. It wanted to twist her mind until she woke up screaming in fear.

No longer did she want to sleep, she felt she didn't deserve it for all that she had done. Sometimes she wished if she would torture her body enough it would fail her completely. But it never did. She sometimes dozed, but even then sometimes the images would come back vividly. She had not slept properly in months, ever since she had messed up. Made a terrible mistake, which had started everything off.

She closed her eyes, tired off looking at the sterile walls that surrounded her, and the silhouette of Squall in the corner of her eye. She refused to look at him. She did not wish him to be dragged into all of her wrong. The darkness almost seemed comforting for a moment. Then the images came.

At first it was the laughter. The innocent laughter that she still remembered so clearly. She opened her eyes and saw that she was no longer within the white room. She was back in Dollet. A place she had visited a few months back. There was something growing deep inside of her, her head began to pound as she sat down on a bench within the town. The innocent laughter had distracted her from her thoughts. She looked up to see a young girl playing outside with a ball.

The laughter continued, it suddenly became twisted until to Rinoa, it sounded awful. Irritating her ears. It was like someone scraping their nails down a chalkboard. Suddenly she felt like she hated this girl. She hated the innocent look on her face as she played in the sun. _One day she'll hurt someone, _the thought came to her. _She'll mock and taunt and laugh. _"She won't be this innocent anymore," Rinoa finished out loud. "She needs to be taught a lesson."

Rinoa stood slowly from the bench, the headache from earlier now long forgotten. Her only thoughts consisted of this girl. This _innocent _little girl. She stepped forward, approaching the young girl.

"I'm trying to see how high I can throw the ball," the girl said as she noticed Rinoa stood beside her. The wind blew through her curly locks of blonde hair.

A vision suddenly swept over Rinoa, and the scenery melted away. For a brief moment she was left in darkness. Then she was stood above a bed. A young woman was sleeping in the bed next to a man. She knew who the girl was, the long curls of blonde hair travelling down the girl's back showed Rinoa exactly who this girl was. The man the girl was lying naked in bed with was supposed to be in love with someone else. The girl's friend was unaware of what was happening behind her back. Rinoa stopped in her thoughts for a moment. No, she had had doubts, but she had pushed it to the back of her mind. It was as if she was the girl's friend, looking on as she saw the two of them together. A smile delicately fixed on the blonde woman's lips. _She got what she wanted. _

It felt like Rinoa was the one being betrayed, as if she were the one being betrayed by her _friend. _Stood at the doorway, feeling the love for the man melt away and form into anger. An icy wind blew on Rinoa's face and she was back in Dollet, stood watching the girl. _What was that? _A small part of her mind told her that she was just being paranoid, that her mind had made up the situation in her anger. Yet a bigger part of her _knew _that what she had just seen was the truth. The cold wind numbed her skin once more; it was as if the wind wanted to show her what the girl would become.

_Not so innocent anymore._

The girl looked up at her expectantly, the ball grasped between her little pale hands. "Do you want to play ball?" the pools of watery blue eyes asked her. They were naïve, unaware of what they would become.

A sudden burst of anger swept over Rinoa; the first time she realised what it was really like to feel hate and anger. The images of her cherry lips smiling as she lay in the arms of the man swept back into her mind again. She lost control. Her hand slapped across the child's face with a loud clap. "You bitch," she screeched, no longer feeling that she was only a little girl.

For a moment there was silence. The ball had dropped out of the girl's hands at the blow to her face, and was now rolling away from the two. It rolled away from the young Sorceress, as if it knew what was to come. The girl raised a hand to her reddening cheek, a wail starting to erupt from her throat as the tears began to make tracks down the girl's face.

There was another terrified scream as a woman came out of a house nearby. She wore a horrified expression as she looked from Rinoa to her daughter. Her breathing was quick and shallow. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled as she pulled her scared child close. Her eyes kept shifting from the girl's red and drenched face, and then back to Rinoa.

She could have left it there and walked away. But no, she had seen what this _stupid _girl was going to grow up like, and she wanted her to suffer. Deep inside her body Rinoa could feel her Sorceress powers bubbling as if they were boiling within her. No, she wanted this girl to suffer badly.

"She needs to be taught a lesson," Rinoa said, hearing her own voice seem more dominating than usual. It seemed so full of energy. For the first time in her life, she wanted to hurt someone badly. _She really wanted to_. "Your daughter is a betrayer," she said hearing a conversation between the two girls in her mind. She said he wasn't her type, but secretly she was jealous of her friend.

"Who are you?" the woman asked in desperation pulling her daughter closer to her. "Stay away from my daughter."

Rinoa held out her arm in the air, she had never really used her Sorceress powers very often, but it was if her mind already knew how to use them. She pulled her arm to the left, and the woman was pushed away by an invisible force. All the time, a foreign excitement was growing inside of Rinoa. She couldn't help the smile forming on her lips as she watched the terrified girl stood alone on the path. Her cheeks moist and her eyes wide in fear.

She could feel the bubbling powers building up within her arm, until a fireball flew out and blasted at the girl. Rinoa stood still, crossing her arms over the chest and watching as the girl ran around the street screaming in pain as the fire burnt her skin. She stood watching as other people looked on in horror, and tried to help the girl. All to no avail. Rinoa was taking control, and no one was going to stop her. She watched the girl burn until she fell on the ground and eventually stopped moving. The girl's charred and lifeless face starred back at Rinoa. She didn't feel it back then, the power within her was like ecstasy then, but now that blackened face haunted her.

She left Dollet, feeling weak after the strong use of her powers. It was a feeling she began to grow used to as she developed; yet the feeling of satisfaction had been within her. The first person she had killed was an innocent child.

She forced her eyes open and looked around the sterile room. She let out a small scream as she saw the young girl stood before her bed. Her blonde curls of hair were burnt to her scalp in various places, the remaining strands were drenched in dried blackened blood. The girls scorched and blistered face looked down at Rinoa.

She felt her heart pumping wildly beneath her chest as her eyes filled with tears of guilt. The girl always came back with the guilt, never letting her forget. "Stay away from me," she screamed. She launched towards the girl, feeling the soft skin between her hands and bury beneath her nails.

"Rinoa…"

Rinoa looked around her, suddenly seeing that the girl was gone. Her hands were clasped around Squall's face. Red scratches from her nails were beginning to bleed from his cheeks. She ran away from him as he tried to hold her. She had seen the look of sympathy within his eyes. Kneeling down next to the wall so she could not see him, she began to cry. Mourning the girl that she had killed along with all the other people that she had tortured. There were too many corpses lurking within her mind.

She cried in fear of herself.

_Authors note: Sorry it took so long to update! School has been taking up too much of my spare time, unfortunately. Hopefully I should be able to update sooner, but at the moment it's hard to find time to write so just bear with me. Oh and from now on I might be using quotes from the TV program 'Taken' by Steven Spielberg as seen above in this chapter because they're very inspirational and I love them. They also seem to fit into my story quite well so it's all good!_

_Thanks to those who reviewed: IttanMomen, Lioness Heart, Rin and Steven. Thank youu! _


	5. Chapter Five Futile Change

The Path Of Time

Chapter Five

_"They say some men carry their war with them for the rest of their lives, and some men put it behind them like an old pair of shoes. And then, I guess, there are others who go on fighting, even if they have no idea who their fight is with or why it's so important not to give up."_

**Allie Keys (Steven Spielberg's _Taken_)**

The Garden was surrounded by beautiful mountains, their peak covered in the white snow that encircled Trabia. It usually brought her happiness whenever she came here. It was her home. Where she truly did belong. Usually just visiting for a week gave her a burst of energy that made her realise that it had all been worth it. That even though a missile once destroyed Garden, it could still bounce back. The people here cared about it too much, and Selphie was one of them.

Staring at the computer screen, she tried to ignore the headache that was beginning to pound. She had been working non-stop since she had arrived in Trabia, sending out requests and dispatching SeeD's so that they could earn money. The cadets had hardly had any time to train within the last few weeks since the news had gotten out that the Garden was having troubles. It seemed that even people within Trabia were giving up hope. But not Selphie. She didn't care what it took; she wasn't going to let her home close down. Usually when she came it was a relaxing time, but she had refused to relax, she insisted that if they worked hard then the Garden would be able to fund itself.

Within the small office that had been given to her after her persuasion, Irvine sat on one of the chairs looking at Selphie. He had been staring at her the past couple of minutes, and he was worried. Ever since they had got here she had been rising to work at sunrise and not returning back to her dorm until late at night. She wouldn't have eaten anything if Irvine had not given her food. He knew that she cared about Trabia, but he worried about her now. He worried _too _much.

During the last few minutes Selphie had kept glancing up quickly, feeling Irvine's gaze on her, but she chose to ignore it. He had seen her reluctance to do anything but work for Trabia. She usually looked so happy and content, but that had been gradually starting to fade away within the long days she had been working. Her face was now replaced with a more serious and exhausted expression as bags had started to form beneath her eyes.

She glanced up once more; he had been sat silently looking up at her for almost twenty minutes now. "What?" she snapped, annoyed at being distracted from her work. She could not concentrate knowing that he was staring at her.

Irvine sat silent for a moment, his eyes never leaving hers. He knew that she wouldn't listen to him, but he had to try. "You need a break, Selph," he said finally.

"I'm fine," she responded, turning back to the computer at her desk. She began working for a moment, but his eyes seemed to be burning holes into her. Letting out a small sigh, she reluctantly turned back to him. "Really, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," he said, standing from his seat and stepping to the front of her desk. "At the moment, you look pretty much like Squall." He looked down at Selphie, remembering the many hours Squall used to spend in his office after the disappearance of Rinoa. He stopped at the thought, not wanting to bring anymore worries into his mind. "Please Selphie," he said, coming closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She looked into his pleading eyes, a small smile starting to creep back into her face. "I guess I could take a break," she said, a part of her relieved at Irvine's suggestion. "I'm just scared," she whispered, the smile fading away.

Irvine pulled her to him, "You're doing all you can for them," he said running a hand through her strands of auburn hair.

"But is that enough?" she said, resting her head on his shoulder. The people in Garden were all as exhausted as Selphie. The SeeD's hadn't had time to rest before they were sent out on another mission.

They stayed in silence for a moment, welcoming the comfort in each other as it began to snow outside. The flakes of ice drifted down slowly, some landing against the window of the small office. For a moment, everything was quiet. Then they heard shouting. A knock came on the office, and a young Instructor came in the room, a worried look on her face.

"Protesters have been attacking our cadets," she said, and gestured for the two to follow her. They followed through Garden until they came at the entrance where they saw a group of young SeeD's.

A girl was covered in thick blood, being carried by a blonde man. Three more young SeeD's were there with blood on their uniforms. The crimson was beginning to dry and flake on their faces.

"What happened?" Selphie asked in horror.

"They're not injured," said the man, "Protesters threw animal blood at them."

Selphie stepped forward to take the girl from the man's grip when she suddenly felt held back as arms grabbed her. She turned around to face Irvine, a flash of shock and anger on his face.

"Seifer," he said slowly.

* * *

The group of soldiers approached the laboratory, their General leading them. They came to a halt in front of the group of Esthar soldiers guarding the door. Caraway stepped forward boldly, his insecurities of the previous day now long forgotten. He just needed to get the job done. That was all it was to him at this moment in time, _just a job. _

"We're here to take the Sorceress back," he said.

The soldiers looked at each other for a moment, then once stepped forward. "We can not do that," he said, "We have orders that she is not allowed to leave this building."

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear," the General said, "We're _taking _the Sorceress back, she belongs to us."

"I'm sorry sir," the Estharian soldier said, before walking back to the rest of his group.

Caraway looked behind him to his large group of soldiers. His army. He nodded to them and they took a step forward, holding their guns in the direction of the Estharian soldiers. "I hope you know what the consequences will be if you do not comply," he said, secretly knowing that this wasn't a good idea. He knew that he was being a monster, but that is what war is all about. Being the bigger monster.

One of the soldiers spoke into their communicators and a few moments later a man in a white lab coat came out of the door. The General greeted him a small smile. "I hope you've come out to give us back what is ours."

The man gave him a stern look, "My name is Dr. Zain, I'm taking care of Rinoa," he said ignoring the threats. "We cannot allow you to have the Sorceress, for the safety of you and your people. She is being kept in an area where she can't use her powers or cause a danger to anyone."

From behind the doctor, the Estharian soldiers prepared their weapons to fight. The General nodded to one of his men, and the Galbadian shot one of the soldiers. The bullet penetrating through the mans skull before he fell to the ground. "Nobody move," Caraway said as the soldiers stared down at their comrade's body. "Otherwise we kill your precious doctor and destroy this building as well as taking back what is ours."

Dr Zain tried to compose himself, seeing one of the soldiers shot before his eyes without warning. He stared at the General. "At the moment she is inside a room where she cannot use her powers," he said more calmly than he felt inside. He looked into General Caraway's stern eyes. "Your daughter won't hurt anyone while she is in that room. She won't get into any more trouble as long as she is with us."

For a brief moment the doctor saw his eyes soften slightly at the acknowledgment of his daughter, then his gaze returned fiery and hard. "The Sorceress _will _be kept in Galbadia."

Two of the Galbadian soldiers stepped forward. Dr Zain knew that for the safety of the laboratory he should let them do as they wished. He had no choice in the matter; he was just angered by their stupidity. Reluctantly he called for the doors to be opened.

* * *

A sudden stillness grew within the small group of people that had formed. The earlier fears had disappeared only to be replaced by a greater fear of the man stood in front of them. She looked at him. His face seemed slightly different, more mature perhaps. Yet the scar was still clear on his face. It was Seifer. 

"What are you doing here?" Irvine asked, suddenly regretting that he didn't have his weapon available.

Seifer looked at Irvine, "What do you think I'm doing here, I was the one who brought these cadets back." He looked at the two people he once lived with in the orphanage, an anger raising within him. "Shouldn't I be asking you what you're doing? These cadets aren't experienced enough to go out, they're not ready for things like this." He let go of the girl allowing one of the Instructors to take her inside.

Selphie looked for a moment at the girl, she was shaking, and there were streaks down her blood-drenched face where her tears had washed away the crimson. Suddenly she felt very guilty. For sending such inexperienced soldiers away on missions as an attempt to help Trabia, and to be told by someone like Seifer. He was known as a betrayer. She felt Irvine's grip still clamped tightly around her arm.

He gave Seifer a doubtful look, "Don't act like you care Seifer, you're the one who was the Sorceress' lapdog." He saw Seifer's gaze harden slightly, then that arrogant smile crept back onto his face. He still _was _Seifer.

"Maybe so," he said calmly, he paused a moment looking at his surroundings as the young cadets were taken away and it was only the three of them stood at the entrance of the Garden. "I have information for you, if you want to hear it." He gave another of his smiles. It really did feel strange to be back around these people.

"We don't need your information," Irvine said, before trying to lead Selphie back inside Garden.

Reluctantly she pulled out of his grasp, glaring at Irvine for being so stubborn. Although she couldn't blame him for the way he was reacting. She too felt anger at seeing Seifer again, yet there was something in his actions that showed he meant no harm. She looked back at Seifer. "What sort of information?" she asked.

Seifer looked around him, shivering at his cold surroundings. "Is there anywhere warmer we can go?" he asked. Both of their faces gave him his answer. They did not trust him, especially not turning up like this. He held out his arms. "I'm unarmed," he said looking at them.

"We can go to my office," Selphie said, leading the way inside. She saw Irvine look at her, but chose to ignore it. She was too tired for all of this. She didn't want any more arguments. The walk to her office was silent as they made their way down the hallways and finally into the door of her office. Once inside she gestured for Seifer to take a seat near her desk. She watched as Irvine silently went to the window, leaning against it and peering at Seifer, studying him. She guessed that perhaps Irvine too saw something different within him.

"What happened to the Cadets?" Irvine asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

Seifer gave a small smile. "What happened to them should be clear enough. They were sent to Trabia even though they were inexperienced, and protestors ganged up on them. Thought it would get a point across to throw blood at them."

Selphie found herself looking at the floor. There had always been people who had not agreed with SeeD. In a way, Selphie knew that what they were protesting against was true. SeeD's were just people trained to be killers from a young age. Some people didn't agree that it was right to teach teenagers how to kill, even if it was for good. There had always been a different opinions on SeeD's, especially during the Sorceress war, but that was over now.

"Why attack the cadets?" she finished her thoughts out loud. "They were only patrolling the streets of Trabia."

Seifer shrugged. "Trabia seems to be the most active Garden at the moment, so I guess you were an easy target."

"I was only trying to help Garden by sending out the cadets," she said, feeling more guilt stir within her. It seemed that all her work was not helping at all.

"Where were you when all this happened?" Irvine asked suspiciously. "You seem to know a lot of what happened."

He felt Irvine's gaze upon him, knowing that he hated him for what he did. A Sorceress' lapdog. It was something that would stay with him for the rest of his life. It seemed that wherever he went there was always someone who knew of him or feared him. He used to feel good knowing that he had caused someone fear, it made him feel powerful. Now he hated it. He didn't want to be feared and hated anymore. For the first time in his life it seemed, he wanted to be accepted into something. He didn't want to stand out of the crowd. The thoughts sometimes scared him. He wasn't the same person anymore. Ultimicia had made him fear himself.

He looked up at Irvine, thinking back to the young cadets, terrified with the drying blood on their faces. "When it happened I was checking in a hotel at Trabia. I heard lots of noise outside, so I went to look and people pouring buckets of blood over the cadets. Before I could do anything they ran away, so I decided to take the cadets back here."

"How nice of you," Irvine said with sarcasm. "Did you know who the people were?"

"I didn't see their faces, but they wore a black band on their arm," he explained. "They're part of an anti-SeeD group called the Peace Makers. I've only come across them once before in Dollet through talking to one of the members. The leader of the group is called Ed Wilson. I knew they were protestors but I didn't realize that they were active."

"The Peace Makers…" Selphie said, "So they've only just become active then?"

Seifer gave a small nod. "I assume so," he said, "I suggest in future you be careful who you send out. They always wear a black band on their arms so they're pretty easy to spot."

"Why were you in Trabia in the first place?" Irvine asked, observing Seifer.

Seifer stayed quiet for a moment. "Of all things, I was coming to Trabia Garden."

Selphie looked at Seifer, slightly confused. "Why?" she asked.

Seifer put his hand into one of his trench coat pockets and pulled out a small white envelope. He kept it in his hands, studying it for a moment before placing it on the desk before Selphie. "I herd the rumors that Trabia was having money problems," he said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "There's a cheque in the envelope which should help Trabia."

Irvine stared dumbfounded at Seifer actions. "Why would you of all people offer Trabia your money?" He didn't trust Seifer at all. He wished that they hadn't allowed Seifer inside Garden.

Seifer gave a small arrogant smile. "The money isn't directly mine," he said. "After the Sorceress war ended I returned to Balamb with Fujin and Raijin. I was never going to go back to Garden, only stay in Balamb. I was only able to stay there a week before I was taken to see the Mayor. It seemed that the people in Balamb are a little uncomfortable about me living there. Cid had agreed that he wanted me out of Balamb, so he donated a large sum of money so that I could start my life somewhere else. A nice way of telling me to get the hell out of their town, I guess."

"Cid never said anything about you coming back…" Selphie said in thought.

With a small laugh, Seifer looked at the two SeeD's, "Of course he didn't, everything was done in secret so that I wouldn't cause any commotion within Garden. I never spent any of the money though; I didn't want anything from Balamb or the Garden. When I heard of Trabia, I thought you might as well have it."

"Cid would have told us if anything like that had happened," Irvine stated, looking down at Seifer. "I don't believe you."

Standing from his seat, Seifer looked at Irvine. "You don't have to believe me," he said making his way to the door of the office. "Just keep the money, it will relieve me of a burden."

There was silence for a moment within the room. Selphie looked at Seifer, wondering what had happened to him within the last four years. She took the envelope in her hands and stared at it a moment. Normally she wouldn't take such things, but a part of her knew that he was telling the truth. Trabia was desperate for the money. "I don't know if I can take this," she responded looking at him.

"Think of it as a present from Balamb," he said. "I'll be staying in Trabia for a few days. If you need me, I'll be at the hotel." Without another word he left the room.

Once he had left Selphie turned to Irvine. "What do you think?" she asked.

With a sigh, Irvine shrugged his shoulders. "Trabia needs the money," he said slowly. He stayed silent for a moment, replaying scenes of the last few moments in his mind. "We'll call Cid and ask him about it if you want."

Selphie nodded her head, still holding the envelope in her hands. It made her realize that everything had changed since Ultimicia had died.

_Authors note: I'm still alive! I promise! I've had literally no time to write at all recently, but today I thought I'd neglect my revision and actually finish writing this chapter since I wrote half of it a while back. I totally forgot about it for a while, but I'm back now with more inspiration and ideas. So hopefully I will be updating more often. I'll try my hardest. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. _


	6. Chapter Six The Line Between

The Path Of Time

Chapter Six

_I could tell you to go to war,  
Or I could march for peace and fighting no more,  
How do I know which is right,  
And I hope he does when he sends you to fight._

**Katie Melua - Spider's Web**

Something had happened. That much he knew. Behind the glass doors, which locked him in this sterilized room, he could hear raised voices and lots of people running around. Yet he didn't care. He didn't care at all. All that mattered at this moment in time was the girl in front of him; she was huddled in the corner of the room. Shaking and crying, much like the first time he had seen her in this state when he went to the Galbadian Training Base. Many times he had tried to come near her, to tell her that it was only him and that he was going to help her, but his efforts were all to no avail.

"Please Rinoa," he said; he felt like his heart was sinking into his chest. Not often he felt like he wanted to cry. But this was defiantly a time when he could have sat on the floor crying like a small child. Once more he tried to reach out to her, but she only lashed at him and pushed him away.

"Leave me," she screamed. She realized that she sounded crazy. Like she had lost all sanity, but maybe she had. She could feel something bubbling inside of her. She could sense the people outside, trying to get her back. A small part of her wanted them to get in and take her away. They could slaughter her right here if they wanted. A part of her mind welcomed death with open arms. _They must not get in, _another voice in her head said. And that was the large part of her. That was the part of her that she feared, and it was becoming stronger each day; that urge to feel the sense of power. _The pleasures of watching someone else suffer, _she thought. That was what she really wanted.

"No," she said out loud as if fighting her thoughts. She hated the way that she thought. She hated all of this. "Nonononononononono" she repeated to herself. _I must not. _She closed her eyes tight, the adrenaline running through her blood. _You must, _her inner voice hissed as she felt her powers stir within her. And she screamed. She screamed as hard as she could.

Squall watched in horror, her scream ringing in his ears. He felt completely helpless, no longer able to compose himself. He really did want to cry, just like he had done when he was a child. He remembered how he used to sit outside in the Orphanage when Ellone had left. His sis. How he had sat there for hours everyday, away from everyone else hoping that she would just come back. And for a long time he believed that she would come back to him. So he always waited, everyday. Everything he did he thought of her, when he made a picture it was for her, and the few times he did play with the other children he imagined her face there smiling at him and praising him when he did well. Then came the day when it suddenly dawned on him that she was never coming back. Everything had been the same. Just like every other night he had sat by the pillar outside waiting for her to return. But something had felt different. He felt… alone. As soon as he felt that, when he realized that it was only his imagination making him feel that she was there and nothing else. He cried. He had sat on the ground with the rain pouring down onto his clothes and cried until he could cry no more and he felt like he was going to vomit. It had only happened to him the once, crying like that, and it was something he had never wanted to experience again.

He looked down at Rinoa, screaming and scraping her nails down the wall as he saw visible shudders spark down her back. He felt fear. And like he had so many years ago, he felt alone. He was alone in this room, and there was no Rinoa. The Rinoa that he loved was not in this person; at that moment he saw all that she was not. And he drew back in fear, something that he never thought we would ever do because of Rinoa. But this was not Rinoa. He sat down helplessly on the bed and felt the lump form in his throat. No. He was determined not to cry like he had done that night in the Orphanage.

"Stop it Rinoa!" he shouted as she continued to scream. The impulses in her back growing stronger and he couldn't help noticing that she looked in pain. He ignored his urges to cry; he ignored the thoughts that this was not _his _Rinoa. Squall stood from the bed and made his way towards her; he remembered how only moments before she had scratched at his face in fear. But the pain was numbed by his adrenaline rush, and his anger at himself. He did not know what else to do. So he did the only thing he could.

At the far end of the room there was an alarm. He wondered why none of the doctors were coming in to help her and pressed the alarm letting out a deafening ringing throughout the building. The door was locked closed. "Somebody help her," he shouted at the mirror, which he knew was one-way glass. "She needs your help!"

He turned around back to Rinoa as another scream escaped her lips, when he saw her next he stepped back in fear. For the first time, he wished he had not entered this room. Squall Leonhart did not feel safe in the same room as Rinoa Heartilly. His angel. _His saviour. _

The impulses in her back were growing stronger. Lumps began forming through the back of her t-shirt. He heard a sickening ripping sound, which hadn't come from the material of her top, and watched as wings emerged from her back. This time he did know she screamed in pain. He could hear the cracks of her bones adjusting and the wings spurting. She breathed heavily like a wild animal and he caught a glimpse of her eyes for the first time. Her eyes were a yellow colour. For the first time, Squall Leonhart saw her as a Sorceress. This is what she had become, he realized. Where the fuck were the doctors, he thought angrily?

* * *

The hiss of the doors opening filled the air among the many armed men. He nodded to the two of his front men to go in first and watched the rest of the Estharian soldiers. Helpless. They never were a good army, he thought to himself. But then they hadn't any need to fight since they had kept themselves hidden for so long among the snow, not dealing with any of the outside events of the world. Only now were they getting involved, when it came to the Sorceress. 

He looked at the doctor. Doctor Zain he had called himself. He looked an intelligent man, certainly not one to risk the many other experiments going on within the Laboratory, and certainly not the many lives of the other skilful doctors within. Deep down the General respected this man. He could see that the doctor was caring and rational, unlike other doctors. He knew that if this were Dr Odine, it would have been a different matter. The army would have had to destroy everything in their path before that man had let them through. Deep down he felt that perhaps his daughter was safe with this… Dr Zain. Safer than she would be with the Galbadian Government. An inner sadness grew in him as he watched his soldiers go past the doctor and the Estharian soldiers and towards the door.

_We're all monsters, _he thought to himself. _Just monsters following orders. _But that was what he needed to do. He had to numb his thoughts and his fears. He had to get rid of the love for his daughter. This was the right thing to do. Just follow the orders. But a great part of him wanted to order his soldiers to stop, and to run away from this place. It had been a great shock to find that his very daughter was a Sorceress. It was something that both scared and intrigued him.

The two soldiers stepped into the open doorway. The doorway that led to their sorceress. The Presidents Sorceress. The _evil one _who had destroyed a military base of young training soldiers. She had killed hundreds of lives without a thought of remorse. Or did she have remorse he wondered? Had she really lost all feeling? Or was she as the General was now; following the orders that she felt were right? It had been said that Rinoa was not possessed, that she had done this of her own free will. He wondered in some sick idea if this was some extreme way for Rinoa to get back at her Father? She had often done that in the past. In her youth she had found some satisfaction in doing things that she knew would upset her father. She often left the house without telling him, and then returning late at night and refused to tell him where she had been even when he had demanded. She had run away from home countless times, even to Timber where she had joined the Forest Owls to go against the Galbadian Government. _His _government. It used to make him angry at what she was doing. That his daughter, could make him feel like he was an enemy, when all he wanted was her to look up to him and be proud. Yes… it could be possible that her Sorceress abilities could have led her to an extreme such as this. Destroy a future army who her father will one day order. Why not? She had done the same in the past.

The first of the soldiers went through the door. He looked proud and confident. The General knew that he was a little cocky at times. That after this mission was over, tonight all the soldiers would go to the bar in Deling City and celebrate. And this soldier… Ryan was his name. He'd stand within his group of friends, beer glass in hand and talk about how out of all the hundreds of soldiers that were on this mission, _he_ was chosen. And he was the first to go through the door to take the Sorceress back. He demanded attention, which had got him in trouble a lot in the past. Caraway knew that Ryan would never amount to anything more than a soldier, but never the less, he was good at his job.

The soldier started to enter the doorway when there was a noise. A loud groaning that came from the door. The soldier stopped in confusion at the noise. He looked back at the Estharian soldiers suspiciously, and then to the doctor. All of them were stood still looking back at the solider, a look of defeat in their posture. _Don't stand there you fool, just go, _Caraway thought irritably, suddenly wishing he had chosen one of the less confident soldiers. They would have hesitated for a moment, and then ran inside without looking back. He let out a small sigh as he watched Ryan look back and begin to make his way back into the building.

The noise sounded again, a deep scream from the door as sparks flew from the top. Before any of the soldiers had chance to register what was happening the door slid shut quickly. For a moment there was silence. And then they saw the solider. That arrogant soldier was stood outside the doorway screaming. It took a second for the General to realise what had happened. Then he saw blood on the floor and his leg didn't seem right. The young man had put his foot in the way of the door when it had closed to try and block it's way. The door in the speed it closed had amputated his foot.

He nodded to the soldier's behind him and they raised their weapons ready to fire. "I thought you had come to an understanding with us," he said glaring at the Estharian soldiers and the Doctor. "You understand we are going to use force."

"Wait!" the doctor said, looking frantic. He looked around him and saw that the soldiers were just as confused as him. "It must have been something technical." He stopped for a moment in panic. What had happened? "We did not close the door" he argued.

It was then that the sky seemed to come crashing down. Above him he saw bright balls of orange, they looked beautiful travelling though the sky. That was until he realised that they were fireballs, and they were heading right for his army. "Protect yourselves!" he ordered.

The fireballs seemed to come out of nowhere. Hitting the soldiers from every direction. None of them had time to protect themselves or to fight back. They couldn't see whom they were fighting against. Yet the balls just kept coming down from the sky. The General tried to fight back, he tried to protect his soldiers, but this force was too strong. And suddenly he knew that it was no Para- magic. This wasn't an invention in which SeeD's and soldiers used. This power could not be drawn from a being. He watched as his soldiers ran in fear, and how they fell to the ground. Their flesh on fire and scorching them until their skin blistered. He watched all of this unfold before him. Feeling unable to move. To do anything. And as he looked at the doctor and Estharian soldiers, they seemed to be experiencing the same thing as him.

The scenery unfolded before him. It was nothing he had ever seen before. Much worse than any war he had ever witnessed. Ryan was still on the floor, moaning in pain and looking in horror at the spot where his foot used to be. He was in agony, yet the General nor anyone else could do anything for him. They were all frozen; held in place by some force. Or was it a force? Perhaps it was the shock and the fear which kept them all in place. The knowledge that what they were doing was wrong. And that as the doctor had said, it was none of the Estharian people that had closed the door. It was something else. _Someone else. _

He waited until it was his turn to be burnt alive. It was the solider behind him, the soldier to his left. One by one they all fell down like some sort of nursery rhyme he had been taught as a child. _We all fall down. _That was what was happening at the moment. He heard a scream. This was not from anyone outside, it was distant but he could hear it. And he could just make out that it was perhaps a female voice. Someone creaming frantic. Psychopathic.

He watched as another fireball fell down in front of him and landed on the footless Ryan, the General could feel the heat from where he stood. He heard his cries of agony, watched as his body twisted and scorched from the heat and the pain until he eventually grew silent. They all watched until it was their turn. They all waited. And eventually the female screaming stopped, and so did the fireballs. It was then that he felt the force leave him. He was able to move again and get a real look at the scenery around him.

Suddenly he felt like he was in hell. The Estharian soldiers still stood unharmed yet looked shocked. The Doctor was on the floor, still alive, but mortified and confused as to what had happened. The General himself was still alive. He knew that much as he looked down on himself; not a scratch. But when he looked at where his army had once stood, he saw only a ground of burning corpses. The stench of burning flesh filled his nostrils and he suddenly felt like he was going to vomit at the realisation. This was no doing of the Estharian soldiers, he thought to himself as he remembered the female screaming. It was the work of someone within the building. Someone kept confined and in a room where she could not use her powers. But somehow she had. And the only lives she spared were the people who were helping her and her father. Suddenly he realised that she didn't want to be taken away. He realised that this really was his daughter's doing. Another way to get back at him.

He felt anger rising suddenly within him. He clenched his fists as he looked at the mess she had made. "My own daughter!" he said out loud so that he could hear it. To make it a reality. "My daughter did this," he shouted in anger at the doctor. "You said that she couldn't use her powers." He stepped back, and felt something beneath his shoe. It was the leg of one of his soldiers. Immediately he backed away from the corpse. The swollen head staring at him with bulging eyes. "Oh Hyne, what have you done Rinoa?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen…" he heard a faint voice say behind him. It was the Doctor. He was now back on his feet, and staring at the mess on the ground. "I don't understand… she shouldn't be able to use her powers unless there's some outer force controlling her."

"I thought she wasn't possessed," said the General, he gave a small laugh. The kind of laugh a mad man does when he doesn't know what else to do. "I was told that you ran some tests, and there was no possible way she could have been possessed."

Dr Zain stared at him, feeling helpless and confused. He did some calculations in his head. "She wasn't," he said. Sure of himself.

"Then how the hell did she do this?" yelled the General, pointing at the scored flesh on the floor.

The Doctor hesitated for a moment. "She must be stronger than we ever believed her to be…" he thought for a moment. "This means that she's as strong as, if not stronger than Ultimecia…" The doctor stared wide-eyed at the General, not believing his own words. "I… I need to run some more tests. We cannot be sure of this."

The General watched the Doctor open the door, and was startled slightly by the foot on the floor. For a brief moment he thought the man was going to break down, but he pulled himself together and disappeared into the building. The General stopped still. He looked at the bodies. He looked at the mess his daughter had made. And suddenly he felt he was going to vomit.

_Authors note: **I DID IT!** I finally got my inspiration back! Out of nowhere this story came back to me just as I was about to fall asleep last night and I got lots of new and betters ideas. So this story is finally alive again! I'm sorry, I know it's been like half a year since I last updated but I am trying, even though I'm busy a lot of the time. Thank you for having patience with me though. I'm not sure when my next chapter will be written, but hopefully I will keep my inspiration and put some time aside so that I can write._

_I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I tried to make it as action packed as possible. Thank you!_


	7. Chapter Seven A sky That's Changing

The Path Of Time

Chapter Seven

_We all carry around so much pain in our hearts. Love and pain and beauty. They all seem to go together like one little tidy confusing package. It's a messy business, life. It's hard to figure--full of surprises. Some good. Some bad._

**Henry ****Bromel**,

The military car pulled up outside the shabby gates on the outskirts of the icy lands. After stepping out of the car he looked up at the Garden for the first time in what seemed like years. He had been to Trabia Garden a few times since the missiles had destroyed most of the Garden to try and help it, and he was sad to see that the once beautiful building still wasn't fully restored back to normal. Funds were scarce in Trabia, he knew that. It had never been a Garden with enough funds, which was why most students had to move to Balamb to become a SeeD. Yes. It had been a long time since he had come here. He only wished he'd been here sooner to possibly help. But now it was too late.

The headmaster shivered slightly; and not from the cold as he recalled the events that had taken place within the last twenty-four hours. Life had been pretty hectic the last week within Garden, it seemed like everywhere in the world there was quarrelling or people having to put up with trauma. Where had the peace gone which they'd once achieved after Ultimecia was destroyed? And now this. He had come to see his fellow cadets, people he had to explain this terrible secret to. One he wished they never had to know. It had been a hard decision. But he preferred to tell them face-to-face, and maybe aid Trabia in some way. After all, there was nothing more Garden could do in the meantime. And in any case, if there was a problem, he knew he could rely on Xu to take good care of Garden while he was away.

"You look well Cid," said a voice nearby.

The Headmaster came out of his reverie and found himself with a woman of similar age staring back at him. Her auburn hair was held back in place with a clip that had silver streaks within it, and her small sagging eyes looked at him from behind the glasses on the bridge of her nose. She stood straight with her navy suit, yet he could see how tired she looked.

"It's good to see you again, Alison," he responded holding his hand out for her to shake. She accepted his gesture, giving him a warm smile back. Alison Beck was the new Headmistress of Trabia Garden. She was good at her job as a Headmistress, yet even she was struggling to keep Trabia running, and he could tell by her features that the stress was getting to her. "You look well," he said, even though she evidently didn't. Alison had been a dear friend to him in the past, so he wanted to be friendly with her, before getting onto the issue of the Garden.

The Headmistress let out a tired laugh. "You're a bad liar," she said, a small smile on her face. "It's cold out here, let us go inside and then you can talk to your SeeD's before we have our catch up."

Cid nodded obediently and followed her inside the Garden. The walk was quiet, as he felt himself grow nervous at the thought of talking to his SeeD's. Not that he feared them. He just did not feel ready to face them with the truth of everything. They were all passionate individuals, and to his news, he was not sure how they would respond. He didn't take notice to how the Garden looked from the inside, and to whether it looked a lot better than before. He simply walked and tried to concentrate on nothing until they approached a door that was evidently a waiting room.

Alison turned around to him at the entrance of the door, "They're inside and waiting for you now," she said softly. "Come to my office when you're done. I might not be there for a while so I'll ask my receptionist to make you some coffee and then we can discuss matters of the Garden." She watched as Cid nodded his head, silently. He looked troubled, but she realised it was something he had to figure out on his own. There were too many things going on in the world for people to feel relaxed about. "Thank you for coming to help, it means a lot, Cid." She put her hand on his arm, giving it a quick squeeze before walking away, leaving Cid alone in the corridor.

He watched her walk away until there was no one else in sight, and then let out a big sigh before opening the door to the room. When he stepped inside he saw Selphie and Irvine sat on a leather sofa. They both looked up at him as he entered the room and sat down at a seat near them. None of them saying a word, which made him more uncomfortable. He coughed nervously and tried to make himself comfortable in the seat. "I hear Trabia is still in a bit of a mess financially," he said playing with his hands, "Are you both well?"

"It's been stressful," Selphie admitted, letting out a tired sigh and pulling her legs up to hug them, "But we're both fine."

"Just confused," Irvine stated. He could feel the awkwardness inside the room. Everyone was silent. And he hated awkward silences. "We already told you on the phone Seifer came here the other day," he began, taking the opportunity to get to the point. "He seems to think he can just come into our lives again after all these years and us to forget all the betrayal he caused. He sounds like he wants to help us."

"Perhaps he's changed in the last few years," Cid responded. "It can't have been easy for him to fit in the world after all he's done. Perhaps he's finally learnt his lesson."

Irvine shook his head. "Just like that? After a lifetime of being an asshole, I don't think he'll ever change. Not unless there's something he can gain from it, to make him seem the bigger man."

"He gave us some money to help Garden," Selphie said, coming out of her silence. She stood up and walked around the room, not liking to be sat down for a long time, especially in these situations. "I spoke to Alison about it all, and no one is sure whether to accept his money or not."

Cid nodded understandably, thinking about what the two had said. "It makes sense, after four years the last thing you need is to be in debt with Seifer." He adjusted his glasses slightly, "He helped the cadets as well, and offered you some information about the protestors. I can't say that seems like a very 'Seifer' thing to do. If he's in Trabia, perhaps we should all go speak to him? See what his aim is in all of this?"

"That's what Alison suggested we do, but shouldn't we be cautious just in case Seifer is following someone else's orders?" Selphie looked at Irvine for a moment, seeing that he didn't trust Seifer at all. "He said something else…" she started nervously, "About where the money came from."

"He said that you and the Mayor of Balamb forced him out and gave him a sum of money," Irvine stated. "Is this true?"

It felt as if a knife had just struck the headmaster in the chest. He lowered his head, feeling shameful. "It's true," the headmaster said after a moment of silence. He remembered back to the day the tough decision was made. "People were scared of him in Balamb, they thought he'd only bring danger to them. So we asked him to stay somewhere else, giving him enough money to live off. Not that anywhere else would have been easier for him. I assume he's feared wherever he goes… he's made quite a name of himself."

"But in a way, he's one of us," Selphie exclaimed. "And he seemed so kind and genuine when he came to us…" She remembered back to when he appeared in the snow with the blood stained cadets. One of the girls had been crying and seemed to lose all confidence in becoming a cadet. After he had spoken to Selphie and Irvine, he had gone to the infirmary to see that girl. Her name had been Emily, and he'd spoken to her better than anyone else could have in the Garden so that she had calmed down. He helped her a lot. Selphie realised that in fact she had been trying a lot harder ever since the days after Seifer had come. She couldn't help feeling sadness at thinking that he was sent away from the town in which he had spent so many of his life training and given the opportunity to become a SeeD just like the rest of them. And simply to be thrown out after he made a bad mistake. It seemed to Selphie at that moment that that's all it seemed to her. Becoming a Sorceress' lapdog. A bad mistake. But surely people should be forgiven?

"I'm sorry you weren't told," Cid said speaking up, "We didn't want to cause a fuss within Garden or in Balamb. It seemed the right thing to do at the time."

"Perhaps we should go speak to him about the Peace Makers," Selphie suggested. "There can't be many places that Seifer can go, so it should be easy to find him. I'll go this afternoon." She looked at Irvine a moment, feeling slightly nervous at how he would respond to such a decision. "You coming?"

Irvine nodded; he wasn't going to let Selphie go alone to see Seifer, or anyone for that matter that was related to Garden. He couldn't stand the thought of Selphie being hurt. That was a part of Irvine that scared him. The fact that he could get so attached to someone, that it scared him to think that maybe one day she wouldn't be here. So much so that sometimes he woke up in the night drenched in sweat, and shaking in fear at that thought. It had taken over his dreams. The way that someone you really care about can change so suddenly. And that reminded him of one thing. "How's things going down in Esthar with Squall and Rinoa?"

The drop of Cid's face told him all that he needed to know. Something bad had happened. He saw Selphie tense up slightly at Cid's reaction to Irvine's question. It pained him when things went wrong, especially when it happened to his friends.

"Yesterday morning General Caraway and his army went into Esthar to retrieve the Sorceress…Rinoa. They felt that she belonged to them, since it was the Galbadians she attacked. I don't know how it happened… Rinoa's supposed to be kept where she can't do any harm. She killed every one of those Galbadian soldiers. All except for the General. She did this all while she was inside a room where she isn't supposed to be able to use magic."

Selphie fell on her knees; she wanted to cry. To mourn for her friend. "What happened to the Rinoa we all knew? She'd never hurt anyone!"

"It seems Rinoa is a lot stronger than we think," Cid said, trying his hardest to turn off his emotions. "I appear to be bringing only bad news today it seems," he spoke sorrowfully. "I'm sorry, I don't have anymore information to give."

Selphie smiled sadly, "At least you've told us everything, that's all that matters." She stood from her place on the floor, looking her usual lively self again. "I guess I should finish off some work and then we'll go see Seifer then." She bounced up and down with excitement, however the two men appeared not to have the same enthusiasm.

* * *

The Headmaster sat in Alison's office with a mug of coffee in his hand, pressed up to his lips. He didn't go to drink it though; he was too lost in his thoughts to even think about the mug in his hands. It was only when he heard the door shut and footsteps come across the room that he took a quick sip of the hot liquid and turned to see Alice take a seat beside him.

"Sorry I took so long," she said apologetically. "Were you waiting long?"

"No," he said shaking his head. "I understand what it's like to be head of a Garden, it's understandable if you're late."

She smiled at his comment; "You must have a lot happening in Garden at the moment, it means a lot that you've come here today."

"Actually, there's not a lot happening at Garden. There's far too much going on in the world, but everyone seems to want to fight their own wars right now. And at the moment, Balamb doesn't have any. I'm surprised that SeeD's weren't sent to help the Galbadian army yesterday."

"They believe that Esthar owns them something, it's probably pride," Alison stated, taking a mug and pouring herself her own mug of coffee. "Or stupidity."

Cid let out a small laugh, watching as Alison stared out of the window of her office sipping on the steaming coffee. "It's been a long time since we last had a chat like this isn't it?" he spoke sadly, "I only wish this day was a little happier."

"It's a hard time for us all," she said placing the mug down on her desk. "I heard about your ex student helping the cadets, but everyone seems a little wary of him."

"It's no wonder with what happened to him in the past," he stayed silent a moment, dwelling on the previous conversation with Selphie and Irvine. "I feel like all of them were my children… It feels like I disowned one of my sons, when I should have been there to help him."

The woman in front of him shook her head, "There's no point dwelling on the past Cid, you did what was right for the greatest number. Think of all the trouble and attention it would have caused."

"Why was he here though?" he asked, "It makes me wonder if he's behind some scheme again. He's broke a lot of promises in the past… maybe some people can't change."

"He's changed. I was away at a meeting when the protestors attacked my cadets, and he was the one that helped them. There were a lot of rumours that day so I went to see him myself." She watched as Cid's eyes grew wide with shock at the fact that she had seen him recently, when Cid himself hadn't seen Seifer for almost four years. She knew that there were thousands of questions and worries going around in his mind. "I think that what you did was the best for him. You took away his safety net, so he's had to learn to fit in himself again."

"Has he had a hard time?"

"Of course he has!" Alison let out a small laugh, although it was hardly meant to be cruel. "He's grown a reputation since the last Sorceress war; and not a good one! Everyone knows Seifer Almasy." She saw her old friend grow silent and in thought again. "He's fine Cid. A lot more at peace and in control of his life than most people."

"That's good I guess," Cid said. "I doubt he'd want to talk to me though after what I did."

"Stay around, and you'll find out. He's been staying in the hotel for quite sometime. It appears he quite likes living in Trabia."

The headmaster shook his head, "I can't stay. I got a call whilst going to your office. I have to go back tonight so that I can go to a talk tomorrow. I wasn't told a lot about it, but apparently it's important."

Alison nodded understandably. "And what's to become of Seifer and your SeeD's? Are they going too?"

"No, I was thinking of sending someone up here. People need friends at times like this," he stated. "I thought Zell, but perhaps if Seifer is here then Quistis would be a better option. She has her way of talking to people. I'll be sending medical supplies as well, and I'd like to cover as much of your finances as possible."

"Oh no Cid! I couldn't ask that of you," she put her hands up in protest.

"I'd really like to help you," Cid explained, "I can't bear to see Trabia Garden fall apart. It means too much to too many people."

"Well with Seifer's money its enough to pay off a few debts. I'll accept a few medical supplies, and the money Seifer has donated, as it's Balamb's money anyway. But I ask no more. You should know I don't like people to pity me."

Cid nodded with a small smile. "I know you don't, and because of everything that's happened I'll leave it at that. But please come to me if you need help."

"Okay," she said. Alison couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the generosity of the headmaster, but he was an old friend so she knew she should welcome his kindness. "How's Edea these days? I dread to think how long it's been since I last saw her!" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

"She spends most of her days sleeping or reading novels, she doesn't get involved with Garden at the moment," he admitted. "I guess it still affects her with what happened during the Sorceress war. As soon as anyone speaks of Sorceress' she gets uncomfortable. She says she doesn't feel all that well, but I know it's Rinoa that's troubling her."

Alison nodded. "I heard about everything that happened with the Sorceress, especially yesterday. It's a hard time to be alive, isn't it?"

"She was a good friend to a lot of people in Garden, Edea and myself included. It's sad about what's happened, but I suppose some things we won't understand; at least not now anyway. I think there may be another war coming, at least between Esthar and Galbadia," he leaned back in his chair feeling miserable. It's amazing how things had gone so wrong in so little time. "Are your SeeD's ready to fight another war, if needed?"

She dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. "I'm not interested in getting involved in another war just now," Alison said looking at Cid. "Perhaps I'm getting too old for wars now…"

"Or too wise," Cid responded. He went to the desk and refilled both their mugs of coffee, and for a while they sat in silence just drinking and thinking. In the twenty-five years Cid had known Alison, it was always her that seemed to make him feel slightly better, or perhaps she allowed him to pass his worry and concerns onto her. And for that he felt slightly guilty.

"It's strange isn't it," Alison began, breaking the silence. "As leaders, you tell young cadets to not let their emotions get the better of them in war situations. Yet it's us as leaders who find that we struggle to compose ourselves and spend most of our time just sitting and worrying. We're all the same really, I guess. Only people in charge, like us, seem to be better at hiding it."

* * *

He made his way through the corridor reluctantly. How many hours had it been since he last slept? He could not remember. Every time he tried to close his eyes the images of the previous day came back to him. Every member of his army had been killed. And as much he wanted to persuade himself otherwise, he knew it was his daughter to blame. The girl he made with Julia, his wife. He knew he had not been a great father, but surely he didn't deserve this?

He could have returned back to Deling City that evening if he chose to, but something inside him still felt stuck in that place as he watched his soldiers get slaughtered in front of his eyes. Some memories always remain as real as the time that they happen. And this was one of them. No. He hadn't been able to face the President then. His pride wouldn't let him stand in front of the President and admit that he had failed completely. So he stayed in Esthar as long as possible, sitting by and watching medical vans drive up and doctors coming up to him to confirm that everyone had in fact died. Like a fool, he sat and watched as the blood and the bodies were cleaned up. Until finally everything was tidied up as it should be. Everything seemed back to normal by the time it was morning, and it was as if nothing tragic had ever happened. The only evidence was bunches flowers placed along the grounds, which were kindly put down respectfully by the local people of Esthar. It amazed the General how people could still feel respect for those that tried to take things away from them.

It was only until a soldier approached him and told him that he wasn't required there anymore, that made him leave. He knew there was nothing more that he could do in Esthar. Only to dwell on what had happened. So that afternoon he had returned back to Deling City. And now, as he walking through the Presidential palace he felt his demeanour harden slightly. He sometimes startled himself by how he could turn his emotions on and off when it required him to. But then he guessed that somewhere deep inside of him was carrying the burden. Yet he knew that as a General, his feelings weren't required. Especially now, approaching the door to which the President lay behind.

After a knock on the door, he heard a voice call for him to come inside. He went to open the door, hardly noticing that he'd stopped breathing, only to be shocked to see that the President was sat at a table of food with the young Sorceress beside him. General Caraway saluted, once the door was closed.

"At ease Caraway," the President said poking his fork into some chicken on his place. He didn't look up to know what the General was doing. "I heard about what happened out there yesterday. How many were killed?"

"Everyone, sir"

It was then that the President put his fork down onto the plate and looked at his General for the first time. Not a visible injury on his body. He turned back to the girl behind him. Eve looked between the two men, her crimson hair falling down onto her chest. "Perhaps our Sorceress doesn't want to be taken back yet. We should have made the soldiers better equipped."

"I'm sorry sir, the mission was a failure," the General said, feeling slightly uneasy with Eve in the room while they were discussing such matters.

Richard Deling simply dismissed his comment, "We have plenty more soldiers that are more experienced than the fools sent out yesterday. And anyway, we'll discuss matters tomorrow. I'm trying to have a meal here with this fine young lady. You're dismissed."

With that, the General was out of the room, leaving the two together once more. The President waited until the door clicked shut, and finally sat back in his chair letting out a big sigh before filling his glass full of wine. He had heard news of what had happened straight away, yet he didn't realise the whole army had been killed. There should have been at least some survivors. He looked up to see Eve staring back at him contemplatively with her large green eyes. With a smile he raised his glass slightly, and drank all of its contents down.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

The President nodded silently, before filling his glass up once more. He had drunk far too much tonight previously, she could tell by the cloudy look starting to form in his eyes. "Don't worry about me," he said refilling his glass, and again downing the whole contents. "We're still celebrating tonight, because tomorrow the whole world will know who you are!"

She smiled at his comment, playing with the tips of her hair like an innocent teenager. He knew she was barely twenty; it seemed hard sometimes to remember how young she was as he watched her fragile form, and the mature chest that was visible from her low cut dress. Deep down, he wanted her. "I'm a little nervous," she said with a smile. "But I'm glad you've given me this opportunity. Thank you."

Deling shrugged, "You saved hundreds of lives of my soldiers. I owe you a lot." He felt a hand under the table reach over and stroke the inside of her thigh and he looked back at her with a smile, drinking another glass of wine. She looked delicate like a porcelain doll, but it was this fact that made him crave her, which was probably why he allowed her into his life. She seemed to understand him, and not judge him on what his father had done. He reached over and stroked her face, "You're beautiful, you know that?"

Eve blushed, looking towards the floor for a moment. Taking his hand from her face, she gave it a soft kiss before taking the glass from his hand. "I think you've had too much to drink. You should sleep it off."

"What about you?" he asked.

The young Sorceress sighed. "It's about time I got home myself, people will be expecting me." She stood from her seat but was briskly stopped in her tracks as she felt a hand clasp around her arm. She turned to see the President looking up at her with pleading eyes. "I'll be back tomorrow," she said sweetly, "And then I will be a known Sorceress. A Sorceress that people do not fear. That's all I want." She looked sad for a moment, but Deling didn't seem to notice.

"I'll drive you home." He got up from his seat only to find Eve laugh out loud. It was a beautiful sound, _she _was beautiful.

"I don't think you could possibly drive me home in this state," she pointed out. "And anyway, I'm in the mood for a walk myself. It's not far."

Reluctantly, Deling let her go. He stayed at the window, watching as she walked out into the city, and was swallowed up by darkness.

The walk home took a fair amount of time, but Eve didn't mind. She quite enjoyed taking in the night air. It was quiet, which was unusual for Deling City, but given the lateness of the night, most people were in their homes. She walked briskly down the street and approached her house. Closing the door, she didn't both to turn any of the lights on. She enjoyed the darkness, and she knew there was nothing to fear in this little house of hers.

Already she could hear the groans. With a small sigh, she went into the kitchen filling a bowl of warm water and then began to climb the stairs. The door was open ajar with the dim light spilling out into the hallway. From here she could hear his short gasps for air. "Mikko, I'm home," she called out, knowing that he wouldn't answer.

She opened the door of the bedroom placing the bowl on the bedside table and looked down at the mans frail form. His eyes were closed in troubled sleep, as he turned in the bed. His black hair matted in the sweat drenching from his body, and he tried to get comfortable. She knew that he was in pain. That was the burden he had to carry with him.

Taking a cloth from the bedside table, she dipped it in the water and wiped his face. Stroking him gently and watching his weakened body. "You should be okay soon," she whispered, "Give it a few days and the pain will stop."

He was a year or two older than her, but she stroked him and dabbed his forehead as though he were a sick child. He let out a tired groan, his hands grabbing at the sheets. She planted a kiss on his cheek, and brushed away a few strands of hair as she began to sing quietly to him in the small room.

"_Can you see the sky turn red?_

_As morning light breaks over me,_

_Know tonight we'll make our bed_

_At the bottom of the sea"_

Her song seemed to sooth him as his breathing calmed down, and he stopped moving uncomfortably. She smiled softly as she looked down at him, and remained there for most of the night. Just as she did most days since he had come into her life.

* * *

_Authors note: The song that Eve sings is called 'Red Sky' by Thrice. You should go listen to it; it's good and it may be appearing in this story in later chapters. Again, don't know when my next updates will be. Thank you for those who have reviewed and got in contact with me. It means a lot. I only wish that I could write more often. But alas, exams are coming up soon. Thanks again. Please leave a review, since I spent a lot of time on this chapter. It's almost 5000 words long. WHOOP!_


	8. Chapter Eight The Conference

The Path Of Time

Chapter Eight

_The sea's evaporated_

_Though it comes as no surprise_

_These clouds we're seeing _

_Their explosions in the sky_

_It seems it's written_

_But we can't read between the line_

**Placebo- Sleeping With Ghosts**

Sometimes life comes to a point where one moment could change the way things go from then on. It's a flip coin; if it went well, then things would go one step further to changing for the better. If it goes wrong however, then it's like the ground is taken from your feet. You're left falling, and eventually end up where you started off. Right back at the beginning. It was those thoughts in her mind that made her feel slightly anxious of today. She didn't know how people would respond to what she had to say. No one did. The future is hard to predict when you are the one trying to control it.

She felt a hand squeeze hers as she stood near the podium. His voice was so confident, so sure of himself. And he was partly her saviour. If she didn't have him, if she didn't have his trust then none of this would be able to happen. His words didn't reach her ears. She was too lost in her thoughts, too intimidated by the crowd of people sat before her. Watching her suspiciously. Waiting for her to speak. There were a lot of people here today. A lot of important people that could change the way things went.

The President turned to her suddenly, and she realised that he had now stopped talking to the group. He smiled and gave a wink as he walked off the platform. Leaving her alone, to face the crowd. For a moment, she was silent and felt frozen in the spot. The realisation of what she was doing hitting her with full force. Hell, there were Generals, SeeD's, and Presidents of almost every county here today, along with the cameramen and journalists present. Were they really supposed to listen to a girl of twenty? She shook her fears away. No, now wasn't the time to think like that. She'd come here today, she had one chance. And _nothing _was going to stop her.

Smoothing the black skirt she wore, she stepped up to the microphone. She could feel all their eyes upon her, holding her in place. Pushing her lose strand of red hair behind her ear, she cleared her throat feeling confident. "Thank you all for coming here today," she began looking at the crowd. _Her _crowd. "I'm sure a lot of you don't know who I am, or you may have heard rumours about me. My name is Eve… I'm a Sorceress."

The crowd moved slightly, some people whispering to each other at the public display of a Sorceress. She tried not to let it bother her, and continued on. "I know with what's happened in the world the last few years, Sorceress' haven't exactly had the best reputation, especially with what's happened recently. And that's why I'm here. I want to change your perspective. I don't want people to fear me, or any other Sorceress hiding in the world. I want to give you a different perspective, which is why I'm going to tell you my story."

"As a child I grew up with both of my parents. They both loved me dearly, and treated me like I was a princess. Those days were the happiest of my life. I can't remember the exact moment I became a Sorceress, but my parents started to notice I had a special talent. For a while I think they tried to deny it, they didn't want to believe their child could possess unusual powers. Not _their _daughter. It soon became clear that they were afraid of it, and it was a taboo topic in our home. No one ever spoke about it. They didn't even acknowledge it. So I tried to regress my powers, I refused to use them even though I could feel them inside me. Growing and developing.

"My family lived on a farm. And it was a few years later that I decided to try out my powers. It had been something that I'd felt bubbling inside of me, and I needed to get it out. I didn't realise what would happen. But somehow my body knew how to respond to the powers, and how to use them. I guess I kind of got carried away. I set the fields on fire. The fields of crops which my family sold to live off," Eve stopped a moment, smiling at the memory. But the smile only lasted a brief second.

"Once my parents had seen what I had done, they grew fearful of me. My father beat me, and locked me in one of his barns refusing to let me out. 'Demon child' I heard them call me. Like I was some sort of monster. From that moment, I was no longer their daughter. They tried all they could to deny I was there. Keeping me locked in that barn and only coming in to give me food. They never spoke to me again. I tried to escape a few times, but that only led to being beaten again by my parents, and then being thrown back into the barn. I soon gave up trying.

"I don't know how long I was in there for. The days were long with nothing to do so it could have been any length of time ranging from a few days to a year. Time didn't seem to matter then, since everything rolled into one. The next clear memory I have was one night when I was lying on the ground, trying to get to sleep. I'd been drifting in and out for a while when I started to hear noises. I figured it was just my father working on the farm so decided to ignore it. I stayed trying to get to sleep for quite a while, when I started to smell something burning. Again, I ignored it. I must have fallen asleep for a moment; because the next time I opened my eyes there was fire all around me. My parents decided to burn their 'demon child' alive."

Stopping a moment, she drew up the sleeves of her jacket to reveal her arms. Holding them out to the crowd she showed them the scars of the burns that she had received from that day so long ago. "Somehow I escaped," she whispered. Her voice cracking as she recalled the memories, for a moment she stayed silent. Trying to fight the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I never knew if my parents thought that I was dead, or if they realised I escaped. Either way, no one came looking for me," she pulled her sleeves down and crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself for comfort. It suddenly occurred to her that she had never told this story before. That in her desperation she had decided to tell a group of people that didn't even know her. Shaking her head, she cleared the thoughts from her mind. "For years I stayed with many different people, most of them were kind… until they realised that I was a Sorceress. I'm afraid having sorcery powers is something that haunts you for the rest of your life. And no matter how hard you try to run away from it, it always comes back to haunt you.

"It wasn't until five years ago that I came across the town of Dollet. I came across a family of wonderful people. Ed Wilson and his wife Wendy took me in as their own child and for the first time in my life, despite my powers, they accepted me for who I was. They even encouraged me to be proud and not let the prejudices of other people stop me. They taught me not to be ashamed. During the first year, my bond with the family grew so much, I thought of them as my parents and it didn't matter what had happened to me in the past. I felt safe with these people.

"Over the year my confidence began to grow within the town, and I found myself walking freely around on my own without being afraid- something that I hadn't done in years. It was on one of these days when I was taking a walk by myself that I came across a man limping and in pain, struggling to sit down on a bench. I stopped to help the man and stayed with him a while. Something inside me seemed to stir, just like that day on the farm so many years ago and I found myself laying my hands on his foot. I healed him completely on the street. When I realised what I'd done I withdrew, wanting to run away before he accused me of being a witch or demon or whatever people had called me in the past when I'd shown my powers. He pulled me back, and thanked me. And for the first time, I really didn't feel ashamed of my powers.

"From then on people in Dollet began to come to me to be healed. I became the town's healer. Although it was something that was never really talked about, most likely for my safety during the Sorceress war, but a few times a week people would come to my home and want to be healed in private. I began to finally feel a part of a community, and being recognised positively for my powers. It was a surreal time for me, when I walked down the street people would respect me, and present me with gifts. I finally became proud of who I was. People didn't question or fear my power, they just learned to accept it as a part of life."

Eve stopped a moment, looking at the crowd for a moment. She smiled inwardly, glad that people were finally listening to her. She saw the President sat there smiling at her, and beside him a few of his best soldiers all looking up contently at her. She remained watching them, hoping they were _really _listening to her story. "That all changed by the end of the Sorceress war. People began to get anxious when Galbadian soldiers came to town. Somehow they found out about a 'mysterious healer' in the city, and came to our house. Wendy told me to go hide in the basement until they'd gone, and promised me that she wouldn't let them take me away… she was right about that."

Sighing, Eve felt her tears building up again. She wouldn't cry in front of all these people though, she wouldn't let herself. "I stayed down there, trying to listen at what was being said. I couldn't make out any words though, only muffled voices. I was nervous and shaking, it seemed like forever. Then eventually the voices stopped and there was silence. I stayed down in the basement for a while, making sure that it was safe, and when I thought they'd gone I started to make my way back up the steps. Then I heard gunshots. The woman who I thought of as a mother had lied to them. She told them that she was the healer to protect me. They shot her in the doorway of her own home. In front of her husband and son. All to save me."

She remained stood there for a while, just watching the people around her. The people who she used to fear. Possibly some of the people who searched for her four years ago. She couldn't help feeling an anger build up inside of her, so much so that she had to clench her fists. No, she couldn't help the way she felt. It was just the way things had turned out. "The reason why I've spoken to you all today, is because I want to work on changing the opinions of people. I don't want people to be scared if their daughters or friends and family start to develop strange powers. It should be a gift, not a threat."

Standing back, the President stood back up and approached the podium. He told them how he supported Eve completely, he encouraged the audience to ask her questions and that she'd be willing to answer them. Richard Deling wanted them to speak to Eve, get to know her so that they could trust her. After hearing her story, he couldn't help but feel guilt. Sometimes it was hard to remember that when you sent your soldiers away on a mission it would be people's lives that were destroyed. And that was something that scared him. How easy it was to get lost within the world of politics and war.

Among the crowd of people before the President sat Cid with Xu beside him. He'd been listening intently through all of her story, and he couldn't help feeling sad. So this was what it was like being a Sorceress, he thought to himself. This is some of the torment Edea had to go through, and even Rinoa… poor Rinoa. He felt sad for the girl. The thought that right at this very moment she was kept trapped in a room with her lover silently waiting outside crossed through his mind. What ever happened to the pleasant girl he once knew? Poor girl.

"What do you think?"

Xu's voice took him out of his reverie, and he turned to her slowly "I think she's a very brave girl," he said, his eyes fixed upon her beautiful form. "But she's not going to change what has already happened. Every time people start to change, something always comes out of the shadows to knock them back where they started."

Xu looked at him sadly. "You don't think that perhaps she could help Rinoa? Or at least try to see what's happened?"

The headmaster shook his head. The news of Rinoa being a Sorceress had been kept a secret between as little people as possible for her own safety. From hearing Eve's story he wondered if perhaps she too had tried to bury her burden away, to deny it. Perhaps it had got too much for her? What if one day she'd just… cracked? "I don't know what we can do to help Rinoa now. It's out of our hands already. We can only hope."

The two turned back to the stand, as people around them began to question the young girl. A middle-aged man with a large stomach stood up with a pen and notebook, though in his large chubby hands they looked tiny. It was evident he was a journalist as he stood from his chair and faced the girl. "Are the rumours true that you healed all the survivors of the Galbadian Base camp incident?"

Eve nodded her head. "It's true."

The man looked at her a moment, as if trying to see through her still and calm face. "Of all the people in the world, why did you decide to heal soldiers of the same army that killed your adoptive mother? Why do that? Surely you would hate them, and want them to die?"

Silence passed as the red headed girl looked at the man, contemplating her answer. "Your right, I did hate them. I still do feel some resentment towards the army. But I healed them, because I wanted to show people that given the chance, a Sorceress can be used for good and not for terrorising people."

"So you did it as a sympathy act, just to get people's attention?" The man looked stone cold. She could sense he didn't like her, thinking that she wanted sympathy from people, which was what she feared.

"I don't want people to feel sympathy for me sir, I want them to respect what I am. And learn to respect other Sorceress'."

The man gave her a nod of his head, and sat back down in his seat allowing someone else to question her. She answered every question as truthfully as she could, aware that they were trying to make her seem cold and heartless, just like every other Sorceress was thought to be. But she wasn't. Eve was passionate, and she made sure that was what they realised when they spoke to her. Inside she was ecstatic, people were finally listening to her. And what made it better was she had the support of President Deling. Someone who would be her safety net if anything went wrong. And she knew that she would end up taking advantage of that fact.

* * *

The walk to the hotel was not far from the Garden, and the three of them made their way in silence. Quistis taking the lead with confidence, even though she had arrived that morning into the icy town after being sent by Cid, to help keep Selphie and Irvine company when talking to Seifer. She welcomed the warmth of the hotel as they finally approached the beautiful yet old-fashioned wooden building. Inside there was a large fire blazing with guests sat at tables at the hotel bar, all drinking liqueur and engrossed in conversation.

It wasn't long before they saw the blonde lone figure sat at the table, his eyes fixed on the television blaring in the corner of the bar. In his hands he held a newspaper, though he evidently wasn't reading it anymore. The group approached him slowly, still feeling weary, half expecting him to still be in his old ways. They were all junctioned, just in case.

"Seifer," Selphie said, as they stepped up to his table.

He drew his eyes away from the television screen as one of his usual arrogant grins formed on his face. "How nice of you to come at last," he said leaning back in his chair. He gestured to the two chairs at the table, "I was expecting you, but I didn't think I'd get the chance to be reunited with Quistis." He looked at her a moment, before standing and taking a seat from a nearby table for her to sit on.

"I never knew you had manners Seifer," she said curiously. She'd been informed upon her arrival that Seifer seemed different, yet there was something about him. He didn't seem as hard as he once did all those years ago. It almost seemed as if he cared.

"I guess you all want some information from me then, eh?" he said ignoring Quistis' comment.

"That's why we came," the cowboy said, making himself comfortable in his chair. "How do you know so much about these people then?"

"Pub banter," Seifer said with a smile. "In the last few months the discussions have turned onto SeeD. Usually people don't talk about such things when having a drink, but it seems SeeD isn't as popular as it once was. Perhaps everyone's forgetting how SeeD saved all their insignificant asses when the world was in danger?"

Seifer looked up as a bar tender brought him a glass of liquor. He picked the glass up in the hands staring at the brown liquid for a brief moment, before taking a large swallow. "I've met a few people with strong opinions against SeeD, and the word 'Peace Makers' came up more often. So I started to find out exactly what the hell people were talking about. I guess I got a little carried away bitching about SeeD, because people started to talk to me more about it. They even asked me if I wanted to join them." He looked at the group with a smirk on his face.

"Eventually one of the members confronted me about the 'Peace Makers'. I can't remember his name now, but he was a stubborn little bastard. They began as a small group of pacifists that formed around two years ago. Although back then they hated anyone that walked around in a uniform- not just SeeD. But since there's a new Sorceress threat, I guess they decided to turn against Garden."

"Why?" Quistis asked, slightly confused "Galbadians are the ones who are active, not SeeD."

Seifer shrugged, "The whole reason SeeD was created was to destroy the Sorceress. Rinoa's seen as a threat, meaning that they'll want to protect her and get in a hissy fit over SeeD."

"But the Sorceress has attacked people, shouldn't they be afraid?"

"You mean _Rinoa _killed people," he said it bluntly, that arrogant smile of his forming as he brought the reality to her friends. "They're pacifists, they just don't want any violence. They believe the reason why a Sorceress goes corrupt is because they're put under so much stress through public views and having to hide their powers. Apparently they start to envy humans, which is why they attack. I guess they just love Sorceress'."

"That's very romantic," Irvine responded, looking suspiciously at Seifer. "I don't suppose you agreed part of this group did you?"

From across the table Seifer glared back at Irvine. His lips clasped together tightly, as he help onto his drink.

"Or is pacifism not your way?"

There was a loud bang as Seifer punched the table in rage, spilling the contents of the drink onto the floor. His eyes remained focussed on Irvine a moment, and he felt the need to say something to the bastard. He really did. Around him people had stopped their conversations to see what the commotion was about. He could feel all eyes upon him, burning into him. It was silent. Fucking silence, he thought to himself. With a deep breath he slowly back down back into his seat and rubbed his temple. Once people realised that nothing more was going to happen they all fell back into everyday conversations over their drinks.

Quistis glared at Irvine, angry that he felt the need to irritate Seifer. He of all people should have known it was _not _the way to get information out of someone such as Seifer. She turned back to the blonde, looking at him with concern. Something wasn't quite right about him. He wasn't quite… _Seifer._

"Do you know how we can meet these people?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence that had formed.

"Stay around the bar, they come here quite regularly. I see them most ni-"

He stopped mid sentence as something caught his attention. On the television screen there stood a beautiful red headed girl. From the noises in the hotel pub he couldn't hear what she was saying, but her piercing green eyes seemed to stare back at him. She looked slightly familiar. She looked like…

"Holy shit," he responded. He stood from his chair abruptly, his heart pounding in his chest as the realisation suddenly dawned on him.

"What's wrong, Seifer?" Quistis asked. He looked panicked, almost… scared.

"Nothing," he shrugged off his thoughts. "Just come here tonight if you want to deal with those punks. I gotta go."

At the table, Quistis watched as he hastily walked away, and out into the street. She couldn't help shaking the feeling that something wasn't quite right here.

_Authors note: Another chapter. Yay! I might see if I can get another chapter written at some point during the next week or so. Although that all depends on how much work I've got to do. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. And thanks to those who have reviewed throughout the chapters of this story. It means a lot._


	9. Chapter Nine The Past and The Present

The Path Of Time

Chapter Nine

_Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better._

**King Whitney Jr.**

The bar was warm, and thick with smoke from the many groups of people sat talking and drinking. Even though it was below freezing outside, as soon as she stepped inside the tiny bar and felt the uncomfortable warmth, she felt something suffocating around her. Something making her want to be out in the cold, anything would be better than the atmosphere in here.

Her task at hand was quite simple compared to some of the things she had had to overcome in the past. Yet a part of her deep down feared for not only herself, but also the many young people that could be victimised by these people. The students of Trabia weren't yet ready for a world of fighting, after having spent so long trying to put the Garden back together and raise funds. The education they received was limited, and there were rarely any opportunities to practise fighting in real situations, even with monsters for fear that they would not be able to afford the risk of people getting injured and using medical supplies. It was a sad fate for such a friendly Garden.

After failing to even find a seat in the pub, Quistis let out a sigh of frustration. Figuring that the many people in here all knew each other well, it would be almost impossible to get a good conversation with someone and possibly find out some information that could help. She noticed people giving her looks, stopping their conversations momentarily and taking a glance at her, before turning back to their chatter. Yes, they all knew each other here. They could tell she was an outsider, she just hoped they didn't realise she was a SeeD.

Before drawing much more attention to herself, she stepped up to the bar, asking for Seifer's room number. She couldn't do this alone as an outsider. Not in here. She needed someone who knew these people. And anyway, she wondered why Seifer wasn't down here at this moment. It seemed like he spent a lot of his days here, by what she had seen earlier.

Making her way out of the noisy pub, she slowly made her way up the steps that led to a corridor of hotel rooms. As she approached the door, she couldn't help feeling unsure of herself. As if she were a small child, daring herself to walk across a dark room. You knew what was in the room, and that there was nothing there to hurt you, yet it still made her feel on edge.

The sound of her hand knocking on the wooden door filled the silence of the upstairs rooms. Below her she could hear a faint rumble of noise from the pub below. They were still mixed in their discussions over cigarettes and alcohol. Beyond the door, she could hear footsteps and a click of a lock and suddenly she was met with the same face as earlier. It was Seifer. He was here right now. It wasn't a memory from the past. He wasn't stood by a Sorceress, waiting to attack them when his master called. It was just _Seifer. _It only dawned on her that deep down she had always had a curiosity over Seifer. It seemed like he was some sort of taboo subject among the Garden. No one spoke about him openly, only a few words were ever said. She guessed no one really knew where he was or what happened to him. Whether he was even alive or dead. That thought scared her suddenly. Someone who had been in their lives for so long. It seemed wrong to think of any of the orphanage group gone. Never to come back.

She came out of her thoughts as her eyes rested on his face again. He had aged somewhat in the last four years, no longer the careless eighteen year old that he had once been. His hair seemed scruffier, his eyes heavier where they were once so full of life. So much ambition. She wondered if deep down he still had that within him.

"Quistis… what a surprise," his words carried that same sarcastic tone from so long ago. And for that she was grateful.

"I need your help getting to talk to some people," she responded.

Shaking his head, Seifer let out a small laugh. "You think you can just stroll up looking pretty and they'll tell you everything about the Peace Makers?" He looked down at her, his blue eyes piercing. "It took me months to even get in a position where they would speak to me. You go down there now poking around their lives they'll know what you are. You're not the first soldier that's tried to do that to them. They have spies themselves you know, they're not some dumb faction playing around with a little bit of fake blood. They're serious."

Quistis stopped in her tracks, a little shocked by his outburst. She silently scolded herself for her naivety. Seifer was right, this was a stupid idea. She looked at him uncertain. "Then why did you tell me to come here tonight, if you knew it was pointless even trying?"

A small smile spread across the blonde mans face; she heard a small chuckle escape past his lips as he kept his eyes fixed firmly on her. "I guess I wanted to see if you and your little SeeD friends actually trusted me. I must admit, I didn't actually think you'd end up coming here."

"You're the only person we have right now," she fumbled with her hands, suddenly feeling quite foolish and at the same time angry. "Or is this all a game to you?"

"None of it's a game Quistis," he said leaning on the doorframe. "I'm sure even you know that."

Looking around her she suddenly felt on edge. What if someone were to overhear their conversation? She remembered the cold looks people had given her in the hotel pub. They already knew that she was an outsider. Would it be that easy to guess she was a SeeD? "I don't suppose we could talk inside your room," she began thinking out loud, "I don't trust the people out here anymore."

Pausing for a moment in thought, Seifer looked down the corridor, seeing an old man drunkenly making his way to his hotel room. Looking back at Quistis, he gave a small nod, letting her into the room. A look of reluctance on his features.

Entering the room she saw Seifer clear a coffee table. On it lay newspaper cuttings of the day's events, she watched as he picked them all up and placed them in a drawer at the side of the room. Each picture was of the same thing; a red haired girl. The girl's story had been spread across the media in a matter of hours. Even here, surrounded by the Trabian mountains she had been presented and talked about.

"How long have you been staying here?" Quistis asked, walking around the room and taking in the surroundings. The room was filled with empty beers cans, and litter on the furniture.

"A few months," he responded abruptly, watching her.

Quistis came to a stop next to a chair, finding another newspaper clipping. "What's this?" she asked picking it up in her hands.

"You know, if you've only come in here just to snoop around my life then there's no point you being here."

Quistis watched as he pointed to the door, emphasising his point. "No, it's not anything like that." Suddenly, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. Bewildered, she couldn't read Seifer's expression. Sometimes reading Seifer was like trying to translate a book in a language she'd never studied. It was impossible. Either way, there was something that felt wrong suddenly.

"So… you're just going to stare at me all night then. Great."

She chose to ignore his comment, her mind returning back to the newspaper. "This girl is a Sorceress, Seifer," she scolded herself silently at her choice of words. It seemed she was making an idiot of herself. Of course he knew that, everyone did.

"What does it matter?"

"Are you interested in her?" Quistis probed. She saw a change in his expression. It was a small change, but it was there. If she hadn't known him so well, she probably wouldn't have noticed it. Taking a deep breath, she took a step closer to him. A sudden thought crossed her mind, and it made her feel slightly uneasy and sad at the same time. "You're not still trying to fulfil your _dream, _are you Seifer?"

"No…" he responded after a moment's hesitation. Memories from the past flooded back to him. Even after four years, they still seemed as real as the day they happened. The control that had been bound over him. Faces of the people he had killed filled his mind. He snapped out of his thoughts to find Quistis looking at him sceptically. And for the first time in a long time, he couldn't help but notice she looked like an instructor. It was as if he were a child in trouble, and she the teacher. The thought made him a little angry. "_No._" he said again, this time more firmly.

He couldn't help feeling slightly weak, as more thoughts came to his mind. He hated being doubted all the time. Had he really built such a reputation as to not be trusted at all? He felt like an alcoholic caught with a bottle of vodka in hand trying to make pathetic excuses. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps he still wanted to fulfil his dream deep down inside of him. Everyone seemed to think that. He was still feared. Once a criminal, always a criminal. "Leave Quistis," he said, pushing his thoughts out his head.

"Why? So you can go obsessing over this Sorceress and looking at her pictures in newspapers?" Her words were cold as she watched him turn his back to her silently. Be arrogant with me Seifer, she thought to herself. She wanted him to give her a cocky grin, laugh at her. Anything. But he just stood staring at the floor. "What's wrong with you!" she asked. This wasn't Seifer at all.

Seifer let out a small sigh, turning and taking a seat next to the table where the newspaper cuttings had once been. He stared at the table as if they were still there. Picturing her face in his mind. All the time he could feel Quistis' piercing eyes burning into the back of his head. He stayed sat, feeling the anger building within him.

"Nothings wrong," he slowly responded, and stood to face her once more. "Quistis, please just leave. Stop trying to analyse my life. I'm not trying to achieve my dream. I'm not a member of the Peace Makers. And I don't care about SeeD. You don't understand how sick I am of people always thinking I'm the bad guy all the time. So get over it. None of this is to do with me. There's nothing you can point your finger at and accuse me of. So leave."

His outburst shocked her, and suddenly she saw Seifer in a different light. He'd always been so sure of himself. So arrogant. Not caring if he was thought of as the bad guy or the saviour, just as long as he got the attention and a reaction from people. That was all he wanted. Yet the Seifer presented in front of him was none of them things.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, taking a seat near him. She wasn't sure if he was going to get angry at her again and tell her to get out. Instead he stayed silent, his gaze still focussed on the table, as if he didn't even realise whether she was there or not. He just kept staring, as if the table held the answers to everything. Hyne, she wished she could get inside his head to see what he was really thinking. It wasn't often she saw Seifer like this. She doubted she'd ever seen him like this. Lost in thought. Deep within his own mind. Eerily he seemed more like Squall right now.

"I knew her once."

His words took a while to sink into her head. "What?" she looked at him, confused.

Seifer stood, walking across the room and taking out a picture. When he returned to his seat he placed it in front of Quistis. She looked at the picture. A red haired young woman. This wasn't a newspaper cutting or a printed picture from the conference. It had been taken on a summer's day. She was sat smiling at the camera by the side of a water fountain.

"How did you get this?"

"I took it." He felt her staring at him. Hyne she was always staring at him. Always probing into his life. Trying to figure him out. Why had he given into her so easily this time? Letting out a sigh, he inwardly gave in and continued talking. "You don't know what it's like having your only friends taken away from you. Being sent away from your home. Every place you go people either fear you or chase you out with guns like you're some bad disease."

"A year ago I was approached by a girl one day. She just came up and sat down beside me and started talking to me. As if nothing were the matter, like she didn't even know who I was. It wasn't until a few months later that I realised she knew who I was. But the way she spoke to me… it was as if she understood everything. She never cowered or got angry. She was just there."

Quistis listened intently. "Did you have feelings for her?"

Having feelings for her? The thought almost made him laugh out loud. He remembered the night they spent together before she disappeared completely. It was beautiful. Of course there was a lot he would never tell Quistis. He would never tell anyone. She made him feel like he could be someone again.

"I didn't know Eve was a Sorceress," he stopped suddenly, speaking his thoughts aloud for the first time, as he looked Quistis in the eye. "Until today, I never knew."

"Didn't you realise?"

He shook his head, "She was just so innocent. I never even thought about it. Not Eve." He smiled to himself sadly. "It seems every woman in my life turns out to be a Sorceress eventually. Why me? I don't want Sorceress' in my life anymore. I told myself that four years ago. And here they are again. Rinoa going crazy, and a girl I spent a brief time with coming up out of nowhere telling everyone she's a Sorceress."

Quistis thought about this for a moment. "It doesn't seem like she's any harm though. It seems like she's a very brave girl for doing what she did today. In fact, I'm surprised that they allowed her to do it. It could have been dangerous."

"She can take care of herself," Seifer responded.

"What happened between you and her?"

Seifer shrugged. "She just left one day. Said that she had some business she needed to take care of. Now I come to think of it, she was a strange girl. She'd be nowhere in sight for a few days, then she'd just appear suddenly. I thought she was a saint at the time," he admitted. "I read that President Deling supports her and allowed her to do this, I guess she needed him to help her achieve what she has today."

"You think that's why she left?"

Seifer nodded his head slowly. He took the picture in his hands and looked at it for a moment. She was beautiful, she really was. He hoped no harm would ever come to her. He ripped up the picture, throwing the pieces on the table. She was in the past now. What he saw today was none of his business.

"You should know, her Father is Ed Wilson, the leader of the Peace Makers. It never made sense then, but I guess I know now why they care so much for Sorceress'. Did you hear Eve's story?" he saw Quistis nod her head. "Ed's wife died by pretending to be Eve. I guess he's angry about what happened and wants to make it up to his wife, and even Eve in his own way. That'll be why they're targeting SeeD, because they know that SeeD kills Sorceress'."

"But that was only Ultimecia. The idea of SeeD was thought of by Edea; a Sorceress. How can it be that they're targeting us when the only Sorceress' who are killed are those endangering the world? Do they want to risk all our lives just to allow all Sorceress' to live and be free?"

"You've got it in one," he responded, his voice colourless and uncaring. "They're pissy about any kind of Sorceress being in danger. Even Rinoa. Which you should be glad about, because other than the Peace Makers and Esther, everyone else wants her dead."

Quistis shuddered, "Don't say that Seifer," she responded. "I know I should be prepared for things like that… but it still scares me. I guess I've been busying myself so much I never really thought about the truth of what could happen."

"It's the reality though. As a SeeD you should know not to believe in miracles."

She nodded her head silently, suddenly wanting to change the subject away from Rinoa. "How do you know so much about the Peace Makers anyway?"

A small smile crept upon his lips. "I did my own _research _earlier on today after I bumped into a member. Although I'm sure I'll get my punishment sometime soon."

"They're pacifists though"

"Not anymore it seems," he responded calmly. He saw her worried look as she heard his words, and it annoyed him slightly. He hated people to think he was weak. "Oh don't worry instructor, I can take care of myself."

Quistis couldn't help but smile, hearing him sound more like 'Seifer' again. It seemed strange, but after all the time she'd known him, she couldn't recall ever having a normal conversation with him. A small part of her seemed glad to have come tonight. "I trust you Seifer," she responded, placing a hand on his arm and giving it a reassuring squeeze. She didn't know what the future held. But the times had changed, and their enemies were new and different people. She only hoped that Rinoa wasn't going to become one.

_Authors note: I'm back and more inspired than ever! I am determined to finish this story. Really I am. Now my exams are over and school is all finished, I have all the time in the world… until I get a job. Sorry if the chapter was short, I plan to make the next chapter really exciting and make the story evolve a lot more. Ooo the excitement! Thanks to anyone who has read/ reviewed my story._


	10. Chapter Ten Take My Hand

The Path Of Time

Chapter Ten

_One day, this world will see me at the horizon,_

_One day, from a distant light,_

_And just before I stand to face my love,_

_I'll turn around,_

_And with a smile I'll say my goodbyes,_

_Just one last goodbye_

**Smile Empty Soul "Sleepwalking"**

The icy mountains surrounded the small town as a gentle fall of snow made its way to the ground. It was a cold day, colder than it had been in a long time. Yet he didn't mind, it reflected his mood. He felt cold inside. Numb. He was tired of thinking about things, worrying about people. Always trying to think of a way to redeem himself. Well today he just didn't care. The world would continue without him. He wasn't needed anymore. No purpose. And that suited him fine.

Taking a seat on a rock near the edge of the walkway, he sighed to himself. No. He didn't believe any of those things. He still worried. Still tried to find a purpose in his life without always having the stain in which he carried. _Sorceress lapdog. _He never wanted to see a Sorceress ever again. The state of mind he was in right now, he would run a mile if he saw another Sorceress. Yet they were always there in the back of him mind. Calling to him with their empty promises and delicate arms reaching out to him. He felt like a Sailor out at sea, being taunted by mermaids. Haunted by their beautiful song. Even though he didn't want to get involved with a Sorceress ever again. They still followed after him. Only this time draped in the disguise of an innocent young girl. Hyne, why did she have to be a Sorceress?

Seifer had shocked himself the previous day. Since when did Seifer Almasy open up to people? To spill his heart out to someone he never even classed as a friend. Or was she a friend? He didn't know. Usually people only cracked easily if they wanted to speak. To open the pages of their secret diary and show them everything that had happened. Share their pain and lean on someone's shoulder. As far as he knew he was perfectly fine He didn't need someone to help him deal with everything. He was fine. Only… deep down he was scared.

"I'm scared," he spoke the words out loud. Trying them on his lips. It was something that he hadn't felt often in his life, even as a child he had always taken things in his stride. But now he was scared. He really was. It seemed pathetic; he could run out into a heard of blood thirsty soldiers and attack them without feeling a drop of fear or doubt. Yet as soon as he had feelings for someone from the past. Someone who was a Sorceress. It terrified him. Why had she come to him of all people? When everyone had been shouting abuse or giving him looks of fear, she just strolled into his life without a care in the world. Pouring her beauty onto him. She cared and spent time with him. Spoke to him without having a quivering sound in her voice, without that look in her eye. _Sorceress lapdog. _That was something Seifer Almasy would never be again. Even if it meant running away from every Sorceress who came close to him. Running away like a small child does in the dark, scared that a monster is going to come after them.

He wished Fujin and Raijin were here with him now. His posse. It seemed an eternity since he had last spoken to either of them. It had been four years. The thought of it made his heart feel heavy, and he wondered where they were right now. Did they ever think of him? Or were they too engrossed in their own lives now, every so often a thought flickering back in their mind about a world they once had together. What if their memories of him were bad? All he wanted was to be something. To do something loyal. A knight seemed like a crown of jewels in Seifer's eyes. Yet it lost him all his respect and his friends. Now he was alone. All alone. Travelling across the world to find somewhere he could belong again. It never happened though. There was always that gap missing within him. Telling him he had made a bad mistake and it had cost him everything.

He was Seifer. Nothing more. Nothing less. Just one person.

Alone.

With a sharp sigh of anger he stood and made his way back into the town. He hated having time on his own away from people. It made him think to hard. To pity himself and everything he had done. Since when had he been like this? When had this weakness crept over him, making him doubt his every move and not even have the confidence to call out to someone? To say 'I don't want to be alone anymore.' He would never say that though. And that was the only part that remained. The reluctance to accept defeat. He would rather die trying than to give up completely.

Walking along the snow-covered ground he made his way down the path silently, when he started to hear shouting voices. And a screaming of a young persons voice. Turning his head, he made his way to the direction of the voices. When he first came here, Trabia had been a calm and tranquil place. Somewhere that took his mind off things. For a while. Now he didn't trust this place, or its people. He didn't trust them at all. And since when had Trabia been a dangerous place? Most people hadn't even heard of it.

Turning a corner he came into an alleyway where he saw a small group of people. A girl and boy stood surrounded by three grown men. He realised that the people they were targeting were no older than seventeen, the girl stood cowering, wearing a Garden uniform. He saw that the men wore black bands around their arms. They were members of the Peace Makers. He watched as a man, possibly in his thirties and of big build punched the male teenager, a reddening bruise already forming around his eye.

"Hey!" Seifer shouted, making his way towards them. The group turned to face Seifer, rage in their eyes. "Leave them alone, they're only kids."

"And what are you going to do about it, _Seifer_," one of them said, the smaller of the three. He was skinny with short brown hair; Seifer knew he could easily hurt these people if he wanted to. It seemed like they were unarmed. Although he didn't know how they knew his name. He couldn't recall ever seeing or having a conversation with these people before.

Without thinking, Seifer grabbed for his gunblade and pointed it in their direction. His face wore a look that meant he wouldn't hold back in hurting them. It had been a long time since he had last used a gunblade. His life had come to a state of hoping no one knew who he was, and not wanting to draw attention to himself for fear of people being afraid of him. He never wanted anyone to be afraid of him, unless of course they deserved it. Just like these people stood before him. Seifer didn't quite know why, but only recently he had felt the need to have his gunblade with him. For protection. Like his thoughts earlier, he didn't trust the people in Trabia anymore. It wasn't a tranquil place anymore.

"You want to let these kids go now?" he said, his voice airing that arrogant tone he always used to have. He was confident they wouldn't try to attack him with a blade pointed at them. He hoped they wouldn't anyway. His fighting skills weren't as sharp as they used to be.

The three men took a step back from the young cadets before them. Just like he expected, they would leave. They weren't experienced themselves after having been pacifists for too long. He didn't yet know if any of them had experience with a weapon, he doubted it, yet no one knew what the Peace Makers were planning. Their advances were always irrational and random. Their targets always changing.

"Just a few words of advice for you Seifer," the skinny man spoke up again. "Be careful who you chose to side with. You're being watched you know."

He nodded to his two comrades and they left without a word. Leaving Seifer alone with the two cadets. Once they were out of sight and he knew that they were safe he put his gunblade away again, turning towards the cadets. The boy had a hand up to his eye, which had begun to swell and turn a purple colour showing he was evidently in pain. The young girl had a hand covering her chest. "You two okay?" he asked.

The two saluted to Seifer. It almost made him laugh out loud; he hadn't been saluted in a long time. "Yes sir," he responded.

"At ease," Seifer said, feeling a little uncomfortable at the formalities. No one ever called him 'sir'. Ever.

"Thanks for saving us," the young girl said, her voice shaky showing that she had been afraid. "We came into town to visit our friends and they just attacked us. I don't feel safe anymore," she responded, tears forming in her eyes as the boy comforted her.

Seifer raised his eyebrows at hearing this. "You weren't even out on a mission?" They both shook their heads. He wondered if the Peace Makers knew that. Or were they purposely targeting anyone at the Garden. The thought made him angry. It was one thing attacking people on a war field, but to attack two young people when they weren't even on a mission. He clenched his fists tightly.

"Both of you get back to your Garden and tell someone exactly what happened," Seifer ordered. "I don't think its safe here anymore. Make sure no one goes out or around Garden on their own."

He watched as the two nodded before turning and starting to walk off. It seemed oddly foreign to have people actually obey him. This had been the second time he had been involved in young cadets victimised by the Peace Makers, and as much as he didn't want to get involved, just to go back to his normal lonely life, he felt like he wanted to see the end of all this.

"Wait," he called after them. They both came to a stop and looked at him expectantly. It made him shudder and his mind clouded with thoughts. He didn't trust himself with Garden matters. That was why he had run away from it all. He didn't want wars, or fighting or Sorceress'. So why was he getting involved? They're only kids, he told himself. Just help them this once, and then return back to the life you've been living.

"Those punks might still be around," he said, slightly hesitant. "I'll walk with you to the Garden."

* * *

His head hadn't stopped replaying the images ever since he had returned back to Deling City. In the day it was easy to push the thoughts out of his head, he had far too much work to do to even think of his personal life or his feelings. Yet as soon as he retired for the day. As soon as he rested for the night, the memories came back. He hadn't had a proper nights sleep in days. His dreams only filled with the sounds of the door slicing through the bone of his soldier's foot. Ryan had been his name. Yes. Arrogant little thing at times, but good at his job none the less.

It was always the fire that made him shiver. The destruction replaying like an old movie in his mind. Only he could still feel that pull. Keeping him place. Making sure he didn't move from the spot until this was all over. Then came the blistering bodies. The swollen corpses around him. His own soldiers whom he had trained himself had again been killed. Last time it was the base camp, and hell, at least that had survivors. Most of them probably too traumatised now to continue with their training to become Galbadian Soldiers. This time though, there were no survivors. Everyone hit had died.

Those who had survived were those who hadn't been hit. It was as if it had been planned. Another shiver went down his spine. It had been planned though, hadn't it? He remembered the screaming he had heard in the distance. The female. His daughter had done this. And now his army were dead. It had been that simple.

"Rinoa…" he whispered with a sigh. "What have you done?"

Taking his mind away from his thoughts he returned back to the computer screen hoping for something to do which would stop these incessant thoughts. Maybe something would pop up, giving him the answer of what he should do. What the reason was behind all of this. There were so many unanswered questions.

A knocking at the door made him look up from the computer screen. So there was a Saint somewhere, he thought to himself. "Come in," he said, feeling glad that a distraction had been given to him. He waited until a face came out from behind the door. A greying woman with glasses poked on the end of her nose looked at him.

"Sir, there's someone here to see you."

He looked surprised for a moment. He couldn't remember arranging a meeting with anyone. But then, his thoughts had been distracted the last few days. It was as if he couldn't concentrate, everything had been going over his head. He couldn't even remember simple things anymore. "Okay, thank you." He responded.

With a sigh, he got up to his feet and made his way down the corridor of his mansion. His home. It had once been so full of life, with sounds of laughter and people. Now it was only occupied by his fiancé Maya and himself, but they both led hard working jobs which meant that sometimes they didn't even speak for a few days. Hyne he missed the home in which he once lived in. Julia and Rinoa. The two women that meant the most to him in his life. No one could get closer to his heart than them, not even Maya. He just wished Rinoa had known that. Maybe if she hadn't been so angry with him all the time. If he had tried harder at being a better father, then she would still be with him in this home of his. There were too many 'What ifs' though. What had happened had happened. There was no point at pointing fingers all the time. He knew that.

Making his way down the corridor, he came to the oak door of the waiting room and stepped inside. He wasn't sure who he was expecting to be inside. Maybe another General or soldier or even the President. What he didn't expect to see however, was a young girl with red hair staring at him as soon as he entered. It almost made his heart skip a beat at seeing her. And of all things, she was alone. No President with her.

"Eve," the General said startled. "Is President Deling going to be attending soon?"

Eve shook her head. "No," she responded simply. Her voice was quiet and young. She fumbled with her hands uncomfortably as she sat in one of the many old chairs in the room. He watched her for a moment, wondering why she was here. So young and naïve, he thought to himself as he remembered watching the conference the previous day. For a moment, he got lost in watching her. The way her hair fell loosely over her shoulders and swayed slightly from the movement of her hands. There was so much he wondered what was going through her head. Why of all people the President? How the hell had she even come to him in the first place?

His thoughts were broken when he noticed her hands had stopped shuffling nervously and she was staring up at him with wide eyes. He shook himself from his thoughts, taking a seat opposite her. "Is there something I can do for you?" he asked. For some reason, it felt more like he was speaking to a young child. Not a young woman of twenty. Yet she had that air around her. In his line of work he hardly ever spoke to anyone below twenty-five, especially females.

"No," she responded, again fiddling with her hands for a moment. "But there's something I want to do for you."

He watched as she looked up at him. Hyne he felt uncomfortable, it was like having Rinoa in front of him again. Yes, perhaps that was it. She reminded him of Rinoa. "What is it?" he asked.

She opened her mouth, about to speak, and then closed it again. Smoothing the soft material of her long black skirt she seemed in thought a moment. "President Deling doesn't know I'm here tonight," she said in almost a whisper, as if he could hear her. "So if you refuse what I'm going to ask, then that's fine. I won't mention it ever again, but I must ask whatever your answer, you don't tell Richard."

It seemed odd hearing the President being addressed by his first name. Not even Caraway did this. It just made him wonder exactly how close Eve and the President actually were emotionally. His thoughts were then taken over by something else, and a look of confusion came over the Generals expression. "What are you asking me, Eve?"

"I… want to see Rinoa," she responded as her eyes fell to the ground. "I've just heard so much bad about her and the things she's done. I want to help her really badly. I can't bear to see another Sorceress be executed."

Her eyes began to well up, yet she didn't bother trying to hide it. "The President wants the Sorceress executed," Caraway said, making his voice emotionless.

"I know," she responded. "I want to try and persuade him to keep her in Esther where she safe. I don't want her to be hurt… and neither do you."

"You really think you have that much influence over the President?" He chose to ignore her latter comment. Really, the mood he was in he didn't want some young girl getting emotional on him. Orders were orders, not even the General himself could persuade the President otherwise. It angered him how one girl could think she could change his mind. She was inexperienced, too mixed up in her past to look at what was at hand.

Eve let out a sigh, sensing that she wasn't getting the response she wanted. "I want to try, whether or not you want me too," for the first time since he had met her, Eve's voice took on a more harsh tone. "But I want to see her. Just once. I've never met another Sorceress before. It's not exactly going to hurt anyone is it?"

"No, I guess not." Caraway responded. "Just be careful. If Deling doesn't know you're going, you may anger him."

Eve nodded her head with a small smile. She only seemed happy for a brief moment, before turning anxious again. "I want you to come with me as well. You're her Father so it'll be easier to get in that way. They can't exactly refuse you to see your own daughter."

The General thought about this a moment. "No," he responded. "I can't go with you."

"You're afraid to see the reality?"

He looked at her a moment, the look on her face told him that she knew a lot more about him than she was letting on. "What are you, a mind reader or something?"

"I'm a Sorceress, General. You're afraid, I can feel it coming from you."

With a sigh he looked at her. Yes, he was afraid. He didn't want to see her, not like the way she was now. If she was to be executed, then let his memories be of her when she was little and the times he spent with her. Let him regret not being the Father he should have been, rather than seeing her for the one who murdered people in cold blood.

"Please, maybe we can help her together. Your daughter needs you to be there for her."

"Alright…" he said reluctantly. He knew that she wouldn't stop pestering until she got her own way. He realised she had that same spark Rinoa had, the way she would go out and do something she wanted to do, even if people didn't want her to do it. If she felt strongly about doing something, then she'd get something done. "I'll take you there tomorrow. I'll say that we're not there to cause any harm, you just want to speak to her and try and understand what's happened to her. But I can't promise I'll go with you all the way. I want to stay thinking of the Rinoa I know."

She smiled again. "I understand," she responded. "Thank you, General."

* * *

The wind blew cold as he made his way back to the hotel. He had walked the SeeD's as far back to the Garden as he could stand. Seifer wasn't in the mood to be accused of beating up cadets or getting looks of disbelief. So he stood back, watching until they made their way safely in the Garden. Alone in the snow and returning back to the path which led to the town.

The walk back was silent and cold, two of the things he didn't like that much, so he tried to speed up his walking until he eventually made his way back to the hotel. His temporary home, until he was told he couldn't stay there anymore. As what usually happened wherever he went. People could only put up with him for so long. Then they realised that he made people uneasy. It seemed he only brought destruction with him. Wherever he went.

Giving a curt nod to the receptionist, he passed the smoky bar with the few regulars in. Always drinking alcohol, smoking and complaining about something. He hated the people in this place sometimes. But it was the only place he could go right now. Ignoring the looks that people gave him in the hotel bar, he made his way up the steps and down a corridor to where his room was.

He stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw his door. It was already open. He was sure he locked it. He _knew _he'd locked it; he stopped trusting strangers a long time ago. Stepping forwards slowly, he made his way into the room cautiously, finding the interior broken. All his belongings were thrown on the floor. A red liquid was thrown all over the walls.

He stepped inside the room closing the door behind him, awestruck by what had happened. Taking one more step forward he suddenly felt someone grab him from behind and he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He didn't quite know what it was. Only there was a loud crack, and then the world around him went black.

He fell into a dark world of unconsciousness. Not knowing how long he was in that state for, only that when he awoke he was in agony. His eyes took a moment to focus as his head throbbed from the hit. He tried to raise a hand to touch the wound on his head but found his arms were tied down to a chair. It was then he cursed himself for being so foolish. The SeeD training he had received so long ago no longer in use. He should have waited. He should have expected someone to be there.

A dark shadow moved in front of him and before he had time to register who it was, a fist came crashing into his jaw. Pulling him completely back into consciousness. His mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood, which he spat onto the floor. The floor of his hotel room. So he was still here.

"Come on Seifer, humour me," said a voice.

It was a low voice that he didn't recognise. When he looked up, in front of him sat on a chair was a man with brown hair, scruffily tied back. He looked like he was in his forties possibly, yet he seemed in shape. Like his age didn't affect him from hurting someone. In his hand he held a gun, swinging it slowly backwards and forwards between his fingers.

"Who the hell are you?" Seifer asked, still looking around the room. A group of four men stood around him, all watching him intently. Their muscles well built, and all of similar age to the brown haired man.

The man in the chair let out a small sigh. "You must know who I am Seifer, even if you haven't met me before." He nodded to one of his men, who stepped forward and punched Seifer numerous times. Each blow like a fist of concrete, it had been a long time since Seifer had encountered any violence. Each punch caused a surge of adrenaline through his veins.

After a while the beatings stop, and through a bruised face he stared up at the man again. He stood from his seat, and walked towards Seifer. With one hand he pulled his head up roughly, with Seifer's blonde hair through his fingers so he could get a better look at him. "The name's Ed Wilson," he smiled at him sickly. "The leader of the Peace Makers, but I'm sure you already know that."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Seifer said through clenched teeth. "What the hell do you want?"

Ed sat back down on the seat, smiling at Seifer. "I want to know what SeeD are planning to do about the Sorceress."

"Well why don't you go ask SeeD then? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a member of SeeD."

Another man stood forward, and again the blows came. This time to his abdomen, Hyne these men were strong. They were nothing like the men he saw bullying the cadets. Perhaps they were meant to be saved for Seifer. He wondered what he had to do in all this.

"I'll make it simple for you," Ed said sitting forward to get a closer look at Seifer. "Why are your SeeD friends snooping around here?"

"Why do you think? You keep attacking young cadets who can't fight back like the cowards you are. Or are you too afraid to face a real SeeD?" This time he expected the blow that was coming to him.

"Release him," Ed said to one of the men. Seifer felt the rope holding him in place release and he was pushed off the chair. He was barely able to touch the ground before someone pulled him up and threw him back on the floor. This time the beatings hurt like hell. They were kicking and stomping on him. Let them do it, he thought. Each time they hurt him it made him even angrier. He couldn't explain the anger that was inside of him. It was overpowering. He wasn't even sure if he was angry with Ed or Trabia Garden for making him involved in all this. Or was he angry with himself? He wasn't sure anymore.

Again, the beating stopped. He lay on the floor quiet. In wait for what would happen next. A figure approached him and grabbed at his face, making him look at him. He figured Ed was trying to make him afraid. Yet Seifer didn't fear Ed. He didn't fear anything. Just as long as he never came face to face with a Sorceress again, there would be no fear. He could handle the pain of this. It was physical pain that would stop either through death or through healing. It wasn't permanent.

"We're willing to face a real SeeD and prove to them that they're a bunch of worthless killing machines. They're nothing compared to a Sorceress. One day you'll see who the real enemy is. Tell your little SeeD friends to back off out of Trabia, otherwise we'll make sure they can't even sleep at night." Pulling his arm back, Ed punched Seifer in the face.

Seifer watched from the floor as the Peace Makers left the room, and even after they had left he stayed where he was. The pain from his injuries now hitting him with full force and he felt he couldn't move.

How the hell had he got involved in all of this?

_Authors note: Another update! It's shocking. I know, I know. But I'm really into this story at the moment. It's just bubbling up inside of me and I can't do anything else until it all bubbles out of me. I even gave up going out today just so I could write. So there we have it. I'll probably write another chapter shortly. Thank you for the reviews… or review should I say. Thanks. _


	11. Chapter Eleven The Meeting

The Path Of Time

Chapter Eleven

_"My mom told me once that when you're afraid of something, what you want more than anything else is to make it go away. You want your life back to the way it was before you found out there was something to be afraid of. You want to build a high wall and live your old life behind it. But nothing ever stays the same. It's not your old life at all, but your new life with a wall around it. Your choice is not about going back to the way things were. Your choice is about hiding, or about going right to the heart of the thing that scares you."_

**Allie Keys (Steven Spielberg's _Taken_)**

The place was a war ground.

The two stopped in their tracks as they rounded the corner of the large city. He had only been here a few times, each memory being of a delicate and beautiful glass city. It was a place that never failed to amaze his eyes, no matter how many times he saw it. Yet now, standing at the edge of the path, he witnessed something that had been hiding deep within him. A secret fear locked away, not meant to rise to the surface.

The laboratory stood tall and proud as it had only a few days earlier. Only this time the atmosphere should have been a lot calmer, yet somehow it felt so tense. Looking at the deep cracks of broken stone in the ground, memories flooded through his mind of that fateful day. He looked up at the sky; now an endless blue of a tranquil day. How different it had been only a few days ago. He remembered looking up into this same sky, seeing the balls of fire blazing as they made their way crashing down into the earth. Crushing and burning his soldiers. The General almost felt that same tightening grip over him, keeping his body firmly in place and making him sit back and watch as hundreds were killed. Perhaps if he'd tried he could have pulled a few men to safety. Perhaps he could have fought back. _How? _He thought to himself. There was no enemy present that day. For they were hiding in the safety of a magic sealed room. The thought almost made him laugh in some sick manner. It didn't make people any safer having her locked away in that room. She still managed to hurt everyone. To torture people; not only physically.

He looked at the large gaping holes in the ground, his mind filling the holes with his fallen soldiers. Hearing their screams through blistering mouths, as they were burnt alive. What had become of the world? It had once been a safe world. A world where people no longer feared sorceresses or wars. Two years later it now appeared that they were right back where they started, only this time the enemies had changed. He sighed to himself taking in the scenery. There was no blood or bodies on the floor anymore. The terror of the day having all been washed away, probably by the rain, or perhaps the people of Esthar had cleaned it all up themselves. It was as if his soldiers were merely a smashed vase on the floor. Clear all the mess up and throw it away like it didn't matter. Just forget and move on.

"General?"

The voice from beside him stirred him from his reverie. He turned to see Eve. Beautiful, innocent little Eve, he thought to himself. All she ever wanted to do was help people. And here she was, making him leave the safety of his office and step back into the place that haunted him the most at this moment in time. It was as if she were checking all the cupboards, proving to him that there were no monsters anymore. _You see, no such thing as monsters. It's all part of your imagination. _Well sometimes it was easier to just leave the cupboards and not bother checking at all. This monster was too personal. Too close to him. With every soldier it's always easier to fight until it turns personal. Until something finally happens to someone close to you, and all you can do is blindly follow orders.

His eyes scanned over the path ahead of him, once more images playing in his mind. It was all in the past now, everything's cleared up. The paths will probably be fixed within the next few weeks. The mess cleared up and good as new. Just forget and move on. With that thought in mind he turned to face Eve, the first time he had properly looked at her since he first saw her at dawn when he had arranged transport to take them to Esthar. It was now late afternoon, and he watched her porcelain face as she patiently stood beside him. Her hair, usually left to fall loosely down her back, was now tied back and held firmly in place with a clip, giving her a more mature look. She looked more like a woman rather than the girl he had seen her as before. Still, he thought that she was foolish for all that she was doing.

"Lets go," he finally replied, and they began walking once more, making their way to the entrance of the laboratory.

As they neared the entrance of the building, he saw that four Estharian soldiers stood at the doorway. Each of them held a gun in their arms. Ready to attack if they needed to. He guessed that they would be more prepared than they were before. Possibly the soldiers where there for the Doctors sake as well as any intruders. From what happened the last time he stepped foot in this city, it seemed that no one was truly safe.

"Stop walking," one of the soldiers ordered, the tallest of the four. Even under the protective armour of his uniform the General could see that he was physically strong. It seemed that he didn't really need the gun he held in his hands, for he looked perfectly capable of hurting someone with his hands. He took a bold step forward towards the two, eyeing them suspiciously. His gaze hovered briefly over Eve, then his glance moved to the next person and stayed firmly fixed upon him. "General Caraway, if you're hear to retrieve the Sorceress you should know that we will use force."

Caraway shook his head, reaching into his jacket and pulled out a gun. "I mean you no harm," he said before handing the gun to the soldier. "I only wish for my companion Eve and I to visit my daughter."

The large soldier eyed him suspiciously a moment, his hands firmly placed around the gun the General had previously given him. Turning to his soldiers he signalled them to attention. "Search them," he ordered. Standing back he watched at the soldiers went about the search. It was evident he didn't trust them, yet Caraway thought that it was only logical having him been stood in this same spot a few days previously demanding they hand over the Sorceress. This was the kind of world a solider lived in, what they did while working and in their personal life were completely different. And somehow they managed to keep their feelings separate.

He watched as the large soldier pulled out a radio and spoke into it, all the time his eyes never leaving theirs. Eventually a muffled reply came through and the soldier gestured for them to follow him. A faint image of a bold solider helplessly weeping on the floor after having his foot trapped and eventually crushed through the thick door of the entranceway flooded the Generals mind. He thought he could still see the shallow pool of blood as he stepped through the door. No, he thought. It's just a memory. No point thinking about it right now.

The inside of the building was a sterile white, with long stretching corridors that all seemed to look exactly the same. He noticed how it was oddly quiet in such a place, the rooms in which he past bearing no voices or signs of life inside. Of course he realised that there were probably a lot of scientists and doctors inside the laboratory. It was one of the most successful of the time, due to being the main laboratory used by Doctor Odine when he had been in his element of researching the world. However, it was no longer to be as busy as he imagined it had once been. The sterile colours and silence save the footsteps of the three adults echoing off the walls giving the interior a ghostly feel to it. He followed after the soldier as they made their way down the corridors, all the time a growing knot building in the pit of his stomach. It suddenly dawned on him that he was going to see his daughter. The Sorceress who caused all the destruction outside.

The enemy.

The soldier stopped at a door, knocking on it before entering inside. Many people were inside, all Doctors and Scientists wearing white lab coats working at computers and studying graphs that were on the walls. A man came forward, thanking the solider for bringing them to him and telling him to return outside where the rest of the soldiers were. The General studied the man, realising that he recognised him from somewhere. Yes, he had been the Doctor outside on the day of the accident. Doctor Zain he had said his name was. Looking at him now, he still held that same aura he had on the day they were supposed to retrieve the Sorceress. He looked intelligent, but more than that. He looked like he actually cared about his work. He cared about Rinoa.

"I appreciate you coming today," Doctor Zain said, putting out his hand. He shook hands with the General, and then turned to Eve. "And who do we have here?" he asked, taking her hand in the same polite manor he had addressed the General.

"Firstly we must make an agreement to keep this meeting confidential," Caraway responded stepping forward and looking at the Doctor. "Our coming here today isn't known to the President or any of the Galbadian army. It's purely personal. I hope we can keep this visit confidential."

The doctor nodded his head, "Of course," he responded. "The Sorceress has got family and friends, we'd expect her to have some visitors every once in a while. And what goes on in this laboratory is of no business to anyone but the staff who work here. You're safe here General Caraway."

"Thank you," he responded with a curt nod. Hearing a small cough behind him, he turned to see Eve still standing silently, giving him an expectant look. He turned back to the Doctor. "This is Eve. She's a Sorceress," he explained. The look on the Doctors face suggested that he already knew who she was. "She wants to try and talk to Rinoa. Maybe try to see what's happened to her."

"Will you let me see her?" Eve asked, speaking up for the first time since they had approached the laboratory.

"Of course," the Doctor said with a small smile. "Why don't you turn around?"

It was those few moments that Caraway felt his professional demeanour crack. He never thought about what he would see behind him. Yet when he turned and saw the glass window exposing another room, he felt his heart stop. He didn't have to look for her; he already knew that she was in there. In the corner of his eye he saw a glimpse of her black raven hair. It was only a brief second he saw her before looking away again. It was then that the tears he didn't know he needed to cry began to form in his eyes. In all his years working for the Galbadian army he had dealt with many criminals. He hadn't known any of them personally. A lot of the time they were only names and faces to him. But this was the criminal now. _His _daughter. And if the President got his hands on her, she would be executed.

"I can't do this," he said almost in audibly.

Eve turned around to look at him, her face dropping as soon as she saw how weak he looked. It was something that she never thought she'd see from someone such as General Caraway. But she could see it clearly on his face. The hurt inside of him now visible. The _fear. _

"I promised you I'd take you as far as I could," he said, slightly more composed this time. "I'll wait outside for you."

She watched as the Doctor arranged for someone to escort him to a room he could wait in until Eve had finished. She admired the way the Doctor worked; he seemed to understand how people were without questioning it. Simply telling him where to go, but still allowing him access to his daughter if he wished to change his mind. She liked that about the Doctor.

Once Caraway had gone, Doctor Zain then turned to Eve. "I assume you know about everything that has happened to Rinoa?" He watched as she nodded her head, and continued, "From her being able to somehow use her powers we have had to raise the force of the anti-magic field in the room, as well as keep her sedated to encourage her powers lay dormant while she is in the room. This will also mean that it will have an effect on you. If you stay in there too long it might make you feel weak and dizzy. If at any point you start to feel ill, just say something and we'll get you out of there."

The Doctor led Eve to the doorway leading inside the small room in which Rinoa lay. "Inside the room there are cameras as well as microphones so we can see and hear everything that goes on. This means that if anything does go wrong, we'll be able to see and get there as soon as possible. You understand?"

"Yes," Eve said giving a small nod. She stayed quiet for a moment, looking through the window at the black haired girl. An excitement grew within her as she realised she was finally going to meet her. She was finally going to speak to another Sorceress. "Do you think she's possessed?" Eve asked the Doctor.

"It's hard to say," he responded, "We've been doing some tests, but none of the results give us any sure answers. It'll be good if someone could get her to speak."

"She hasn't spoken to anyone?" Eve questioned.

The Doctor shook his head, "Her boyfriend has been here everyday trying to talk to her, but she won't talk. She seems very disturbed at the moment." At his words he saw Eve's face drop slightly. "There's still chance for her to speak to someone. Are you ready to go inside?"

The red haired girl nodded her head. "I'm going to try my hardest to talk to her."

The Doctor walked up to a control panel next to the door typing in a code. "It'll be a great help to us if you can get her to speak," he said as the door hissed open.

As soon as she stepped into the room she felt the anti-magic field all around her. It pressed in on her tightly, making it feel hard to breath. She stood still for a moment, trying to get used to the feeling. It made her wonder just how a Sorceress could live feeling like this for so long, but then, Rinoa had no choice did she? The thought saddened Eve. Slowly she made her way across the room and around the bed to face the raven girl, all the time feeling a great pressure upon her head. It was as if someone were trying to crush her brain. The feeling was almost unbearable.

She crouched down slowly on the floor, and found that she was faced with a girl not much older than herself. Rinoa's eyes were open, but fixed looking distant like she were deep in thought. It could have been thought by the way she was lying on the bed that she was dead, if her eyes didn't blink every so often. Showing that there was still life within her.

"Hello Rinoa," Eve said, placing her hands on the bed near Rinoa. "You don't know me yet, but I know a lot about you. Deep down I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, because I know what you must be going through."

She watched as the young woman's expression didn't change. She wasn't even sure if she could hear her, she hadn't even responded when Eve had come down and sat beside her bed. Still, it was worth a try to talk to her. She knew that she could get Rinoa to at least listen to what she was going to say. "My name is Eve, Rinoa. I'm a Sorceress, just like you."

From her last words, there was a slight change in her expression. Previously her face had been blank, showing no signs of whether she could hear Eve or not. Now her face changed slightly, a deeper frown on her features as if she were thinking of how to answer a question.

"You know it's said that a Sorceress can identify another of her kind just by looking at them. I can tell by looking at you who you are, just as if you look at me you'll see who I am. It's a strange feeling. It's like there's some sort of connection, like a bond pulling me towards you. As if I've known you before, even though I've never met you."

She looked at the silent girl. "Look at me, Rinoa. See me for what I am. You're not alone, I promise." Lifting a hand, she placed it softly on Rinoa's cheek, stroking it gently. They stayed in silence for a minute; Eve watching over Rinoa as her face remained the same. Just as she was about to give up, she saw her eyes move slowly from where they had been staring into nothingness, to focus onto Eve.

It was that moment Sorceress and Sorceress locked eyes. The connection between them allowing them to see further into each other than any mortal could. It had been one thing to look at her and sense the Sorceress blood within her. But now, looking into Rinoa's eyes, it was as if she could see right into the very core of her being. She saw Rinoa for what she was. A Sorceress.

All through Eve's life people had known that there was something special about her. Whether they knew that she was a Sorceress or not, they always pushed the thoughts to the back of their minds. Not daring to admit the truth. And even if they said that they accepted her, they still didn't dare to really look at her. To see what was really there. When you allowed yourself to do that, just as Eve was doing to Rinoa now it opened up a completely different world to the person. She suddenly saw all of the fear within her. She felt the guilt that troubled her every minute of the day. And the pain of knowing what she had caused to so many people. Even further into Rinoa she saw the stain of another. It suddenly dawned on Eve that Rinoa had been possessed before. Anyone who had been possessed always carried a stain of the person who overtook their body. No matter how long ago it had happened, as she saw that Rinoa had once been possessed a few years earlier.

Eve was the first to break away from her desperate eyes as she saw something else within Rinoa. Something that she hadn't expected.

"You've felt this connection before, haven't you?" she watched as Rinoa's eyes fell back into their normal distant look. "Even though the Sorceress was corrupt, you felt that same connection. And you had to stand and watch as people destroyed her…"

"You were there, at the end of the Sorceress war two years ago, weren't you?" she said, it was more Eve thinking out loud than speaking to Rinoa. She could still feel her gaze. Her eyes seeming to open a flood of emotions and confessions, letting them wash all over Eve. This was the language of a Sorceress. "Even though you knew she was evil, deep down you felt like you could relate to her. And a part of you didn't want to hurt her."

She looked down to see a tear escape past Rinoa's now emotionless eyes and made its trail down her face. "It's okay to be scared, Rinoa." Lifting her hand, she began stroking her face once more, gently caressing the delicate locks of black hair that lay on her face.

"I always found that no matter if people accepted you for who you are or not, there's always that fear within. No matter how hard I try to hide my powers, I can feel them within me. I know what I'm capable of if I allowed myself to do so. No mortal knows that feeling. Its something that no matter how hard you try to push the thoughts away, it always remains there in the back of your mind.

"No one should ever have to carry that fear of themselves, but this is what a Sorceress bears with them everyday of their lives. I can assure you Rinoa, what you have done in the past few months every Sorceress would have had an urge to do at one point in their lives. That feeling of the power surging through your veins, it stays with every Sorceress, even in my dreams I've felt it. Until one day all you can do is release it."

She looked down at Rinoa, feeling a tight knot form in the back of her throat. For some reason, Eve found herself making confessions to this silent girl. Confessions she had never told another person. It was something that she hadn't even thought of in a long time, but here it was at the surface of her mind again, like it had suddenly been washed up on the shore. She just wanted her to understand. _Needed _her to know that she wasn't alone in this. She was far from alone in what she was feeling.

"When I was younger a group of young people in my town started to find out who I was. _What _I was. If they were in the middle of a conversation or playing a game, as soon as I came near them they would simply stop what they were doing and turn silent whilst watching me. Whenever they saw me they'd all stop and stare, like I was some sort of monster. It went on like this until one day when I was alone, walking to a shop around the corner from my home, I saw them staring at me like they usually did. Only this time they didn't remain stood like they usually did. They began to follow me. At first I didn't notice, but then they started to get closer, so I tried to run away from them. They all chased after me to a quiet area where no one was around, and began shouting insults at me. They stood in a circle around me, chanting 'Witch' and some other insults that I don't want to remember. It went on like this until some of the children started to pick stones off the floor and threw them at me. I felt like I was a wild animal."

"I snapped Rinoa," she whispered. "Just like you have done, I couldn't take much more. At thirteen years old I put six people my age in hospital. They were lucky to even survive. I… I'm so ashamed."

This time it was Eve's turn to sit quietly and stare into nothingness. The memories of that day still haunting her mind, tormenting her. It was memories like this that had driven her to what she was doing today. She had to remember that what she was doing was for the greater good. She needed people to understand her. Putting a hand on her arm, she took off a silver bracelet, looking at it for a moment.

"This is a gift between Sorceresses," she said, sliding the silver band over Rinoa's arm. She looked down at the raven girl a moment, taking in all of her features. She wanted to remember her face for the rest of her life. She wanted to remember the way it felt to look into the eyes of another of her kind. The room began to seem smaller as the pressure surrounding her body closed in on her. It dawned on her that she couldn't stay in this room much longer, not with the anti-magic field. It was too over powering. It made her feel ill.

Taking one last glance down at Rinoa, she stood from her position on the floor ready to leave the room. She had achieved all she wanted to for today. Just the simple act of being in a room with another of her kind was something that made her feel slightly better. Letting out a small sigh, she began to walk to the doorway leading out of the room.

A hand gripped tightly over Eve's arm, stopping her in her tracks. The grasp was firm, almost painful around her slender wrist, and she looked behind her slightly startled by the sudden contact. Looking down she was met with the desperate face of a young woman. Tears streaming down her face, as brown eyes stared up at her. Pleading. Almost begging.

"Help me…"

The voice was course, evidently having not spoken properly in so long. But the desperate words were enough to cause a flood of emotions through Eve as she stepped back and sat on the bed, watching Rinoa who was now sat up and breathing rapidly through her sudden outburst.

"I'm going to do what I can for you," Eve said with a small, knowing smile. She wrapped her arms around Rinoa in a tight embrace. "We'll help each other together. I promise."

She felt Rinoa's head shake against her shoulder as she began weeping uncontrollably. Eve placed a hand through her hair, stroking her as a mother might hold a child, and whispered words to sooth her. She had made a connection with Rinoa. Finally it felt like people were listening to her.

"I promise everything will be okay," she whispered.

_Authors note: This was going to be the first section of a chapter… but somehow it's ended up being over 4500 words long. I have a LOT more that was supposed to go into this chapter, so to save it going on so long, I'll leave it until next chapter. Which will be written sometime within the next week most likely. I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment, so it's nice to finally be able to write again. Thank you so much to Luis and a-chinchila. Your reviews mean a lot to me. _


	12. Chapter Twelve A Chance Of Hope

The Path Of Time

Chapter Twelve

**I know what lies beneath,**

**I've seen the flash of teeth,**

**Conspiring with the reef to sink our ship,**

**The winds a cheating wife,**

**Her tongue a thirsty knife,**

**And she could take your life, with one good kiss**

**Thrice - Red Sky**

He felt sick to his stomach. The surroundings around him were completely sterile, everywhere in this place seemed to be white. It hurt his head. All this mess was too much for him to handle right now. Why had he agreed to come here? He had always known deep down that this would happen. It was as if something inside of him was turning him away, pulsating through his body as if he were possessed. And as much as he had wanted to look. To see with his own eyes. He knew that he couldn't. He was too afraid.

Coward. This was the word that went through his body in an almost painful shiver. It went straight down his spine, his stomach felt like there was a tight knot inside of it. _You're such a coward. _Part of him wanted to go back inside that room. To take the courage to face the truth without being afraid, yet a larger part of him just wanted to get out of here. To run and scream and never turn back. This was crazy. How had the world got so messed up?

A sigh escaped his lips, he blew the air out in one long breath, as if he could breathe the anxiety out of his system. It made him feel slightly better. He had to calm down. Perhaps if he just stayed here a while things would calm down. He'd be able to walk straight back through the door and act as if nothing had happened. The shock of ice cold water is never bad once touched the second time round. Perhaps he would see something good through that door. Maybe for the first time in weeks he could feel some sort of relief being reunited with his daughter. He'd find out that everything was a mistake and they could all get on with their lives as they had before. He knew however, that this would not be the case.

Deep down in his mind, the reason for the thudding in his ears and the sickly tightness in his stomach was because he was afraid that he would have to face the truth. He would see their merciless enemy through the glass of the laboratory. Instead of seeing his once little girl, all he would see was an enemy.

"General Caraway?"

The voice startled him from his reverie. He'd been so deep within his own thoughts he hadn't even noticed the swoosh as the laboratory door opened and a young woman stepped out. She was a young girl with brown hair tied back and a pair of glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. He noticed she wore a long white coat, which he gathered meant that she was also a doctor working alongside the many other doctors in the room.

"Doctor Zain thought that you could perhaps go to the waiting room if you want some time. We understand that this can't be easy for you."

The General thought a moment. A part of him felt like he didn't want to leave, his place stood by the laboratory door being the closest he dared to get to his daughter. But at least he was close to her. He wasn't so sure he was ready to leave. He stayed silent, not wanting to seem like a fool standing out in the hallway.

"Where's Eve?" he suddenly responded, realising that she wasn't anywhere in sight.

"She's inside with Rinoa now," the young woman said. She shifted on her feet, looking a little uncomfortable at the current situation.

Caraway gave a small nod. A wave of emotion flooding over him. He wasn't quite sure what he was feeling at that moment in time. But the thought of Eve being in the same room as his daughter, her being able to just walk in without a hesitation. It… made him envious of her. For so long he had wanted the chance to be able to speak to Rinoa, without arguments or awkwardness between them. And now this. She had hurt so many people. He felt disappointed.

"Perhaps your right, I'll go in the waiting room," he decided. He didn't want to feel shame for his daughter. He didn't want to have to feel disappointed as he looked at her, locked up in a room and studied twenty -four hours a day like some sort of wild animal. He couldn't face to look at her like that. Ever. He wanted to feel proud of her, and watch her grow into an adult with a normal life like every other person. But look what had happened. _Look what she'd done._

Before he had chance to think any further, he saw the young woman gesture for him to follow her down the corridor. Her heels echoing off the walls of this sterile place. "Squall Leonhart is also in the waiting room," she informed, leading him past lots of medical rooms.

"He's been here with her?"

The mention of his name made the General curious. Truthfully he hadn't even thought about the young SeeD at all since the news of Rinoa's whereabouts had arrived. He was a SeeD. Caraway gathered that he would be back at Garden doing his duties like an obeying soldier.

He saw the young doctor give a small laugh. "He's been by her bed everyday from the day she first arrived here. He's hardly eaten or slept," her smile dropped slightly, "Well… that was until the event the other day with the Galbadian soldiers. He hasn't really been to see her since then. He's either watching her through the laboratory window, or sat in the waiting room alone. Maybe it'd do him some good having someone to talk to."

She stopped abruptly at a door, and turned to the General with a small smile. "The waiting room is through this door. We'll let you know how the two Sorceress' get on as soon as we can."

He watched the doctors face glow with excitement at the mention of the Sorceresses. There were a lot of people like her in these kind of places. The kind of doctors that just want to probe and discover new things, no matter what or who it is. She had the same kind of enthusiasm as doctors like Doctor Odine. The kind of people who just see it as science. They just want to discover. They don't care about who gets hurt along the way.

"Thank you," General Caraway said, eyeing the young girl suspiciously. He really hoped that not everyone caring for Rinoa was the same as the doctor in front of him.

Shrugging off the thoughts he opened the door which led into the waiting room only to find himself shocked at the interior. He had started to think that everywhere in this place was covered in that same dreary white colour. He found himself looking into a cream room, with large beige sofas that made it seem as if he were looking into the living room of somebody's home. At the centre of the room was an oak coffee table with a vase of flowers placed neatly on top.

He saw at the back of the room a young man stood with his back facing the General, as he gazed out of the window. He didn't move upon the entrance of another person entering the room. There was always people that would come to check up on him, to keep him updated on what was happening. Nothing ever seemed to change though. Rinoa was still the silent girl she had been since they had first been reunited once more.

Taking his eyes off the beautiful scenery of the city surrounding them, Squall turned as he heard the footsteps of someone moving around in the room. He was faced with General Caraway, something that he didn't expect, yet it somehow didn't shock him to see the General stood before him. He hadn't slept properly in weeks. His thoughts and worries making sleep the last thing on his mind, even though his exhaustion lingered over him like a disease.

"I hear you've been here quite a while," Caraway said watching the young man.

Squall nodded his head, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah," he said, his voice quiet within the room. He'd hardly spoken to anyone, only muttered a few words when needed, but most of the time he was left alone. Recently he'd spent most of the time in the waiting room. He found it hard to be around Rinoa since the day she attacked the soldiers. It pained him to admit it. He couldn't face seeing Rinoa. The echoing sounds of the wings cracking through Rinoa's skin went through his head on that horrific day.

That was the day that had changed Squall Leonhart's mind. He'd spent the last few weeks sat by Rinoa's side every minute of the day just trying to get her to speak. He wanted so badly for her to just look up at him and smile, letting him know that this was all some sort of sick joke. Anything was better than the truth. That she had killed so many people. He had just wanted her to look at him and say that none of this was her doing. That it was some sort of monster. Of course he'd realised that the monsters were never the things you imagined in your childish nightmares. The real monsters always took on a more human form. Most of the time they looked like any other ordinary person. No real features that identified them as being monsters.

It was only the day the Galbadian Soldiers came that he saw the monster in Rinoa. He remembered watching her body writhing on the floor, crimson stained wings arched menacingly from her back. The room shook as the fireballs made their way down to her victims, burning them alive. It was during that time that he had seen the look in her eyes. Her eyes taking on a yellow tint as he saw for the first time the Sorceress within her. Not an ordinary Sorceress with little power. But a Sorceress who could kill in cold blood, just as Ultimecia and Adel had once done when they were in power.

It wasn't until the room stopped shaking that he realised what had happened. Doctors rushed in pushing him out the room before he had chance to even see what had happened to Rinoa. It was when he was left outside to stand in the hallway that he had witnessed the screaming from outside, and saw with his own eyes the horror that she had caused. He had helped clean up the bodies off the ground personally. It felt like she was smearing their blood over him. Punishing him for trusting her. Prying his eyes open and making him see what she had become. And that she was no longer the innocent girl he once knew.

He spent the first few days just walking around the outskirts of the building, or lingering in the hallways. He didn't dare face Rinoa again. It was Doctor Zain that persuaded him to step inside the room. That if he couldn't be with her in the same room, he could at least be watching over her. And that was what he did. Just stood by the window, watching the frail form of the woman he once loved. Telling himself over and over that this wasn't the same woman. When he looked into her eyes now, all he could see was the bodies of the people she killed.

Looking up at the General he wondered if he had any idea what his daughter had become. That if she was taken away from Esthar, she'd be on her own in the world and able to use her powers. She would kill, he knew that now. The only place that was safe for Rinoa was Esthar. The only fate she could have was death. The thought made him shudder. No matter what she had become, how badly she scared Squall. He could never witness her be put to death.

"If you're here to take Rinoa back again, it will have to get physical once more," Squall said, suddenly feeling the need to speak. He just needed something to stop his thoughts. Anything. Even violence would be a welcome relief the mood he was in.

The General shook his head. "I'm not here to take her back. If it makes you feel better, I'm glad that she's being kept here. Its safe for her here."

"So now you're just going to come here and act like nothing's happened?" Squall stated.

"I'm sorry for my actions last time I came here," Caraway responded with a sigh. "If it means anything, the President doesn't know I'm here. I have someone with me now trying to talk to Rinoa. Another Sorceress. She really wants to help Rinoa."

He really didn't know why he was trying to explain himself to this boy. The General never felt guilty for his actions when it came to orders from the President. Yet now he found himself feeling guilty coming here. Seeing what these people were doing. All the effort they had made to keep her safe. And he'd tried to take that away from her.

"You think you can just walk in here and make everything all better?" Squall snapped, suddenly feeling angry. He was so tired of staying in this place. Hyne, if he really admitted it, he was tired of waiting for Rinoa to do something. He was tired of being afraid.

"I know I can't take back what she's done, and I obviously should have been here sooner. I'm her father Squall, I just want to help her."

"I've been by her side since the day she got here. I've been there for her," he said, his voice growing cold. "I'm starting to doubt anyone will be able to help her."

"So you're just going to give up on her?" the General asked. He didn't know why they were arguing. He was sick of that tight knot of mixed emotions in the pit of his stomach. It never went away, and it seemed that the events of every day which passed only made it grow bigger. He wondered how much longer they would have to carry on like this. Perhaps the knot would grow so tight that it would suffocate him. Envelope him so completely that eventually there would be nothing. No pain. No fear. It would be emptiness.

"Why aren't you with her now, Squall?"

This made Squall silent a moment. His thoughts had been locked inside his mind. Unspoken. It was hard enough to come to terms with what had happened and his new feelings for Rinoa. _She was a monster,_ that's what he thought now when he looked at her. She wasn't Rinoa. Not the girl he met so long ago at a graduation dance. The air of innocence around her. That girl didn't kill people. That girl at the graduation dance didn't spurt wings from her back and send balls of fire to slaughter whole armies.

He had seen General Caraway that day. He had been stood still, the look in his eyes empty. It was the look of a lone man who had witnessed something terrible. Something that no one could have predicted, and no one could do anything about. It was happening. The world was falling apart around their feet. And no one could be there to say that everything was going to be okay. Their fears had come true. The Sorceress within Rinoa was alive. When Squall looked at the General he could see a part of himself inside of him.

"The same reason you're not with her now," he said, the silence of the room echoing in his ears making his voice seem too loud, not matter how quietly he spoke. "You're afraid of her."

The General felt a sharp jolt in the pit of his stomach. Again, that same sickly knot grew tighter making it hard to breath. He hadn't wanted to admit his feelings to anyone else. Perhaps people would wonder, or come up with their own conclusions as to why he didn't go through. But he never wanted to hear someone say it out loud. He let out a long sigh, bringing his gaze down to the ground.

"I'm ashamed of how I feel," he spoke. "I couldn't even summon the courage to look at her. Forgive me, but no matter what we do now, her punishment for torturing so many people will still be the same. Even though she's still being cared for in this place, she's already dead."

"I know," Squall's said. It amazed him how calm he sounded. As if he were having an everyday conversation. Like none of this were happening.

"If not death, she'll have to stay here for the remaining of her life most likely. She's not safe anywhere else," the General said, thinking out loud. "If that's the case, how long are you going to stay with Rinoa for before you have to move on with your life?"

It was a question that made Squall feel uneasy. Something he had not really thought about before. What would he do after her sentence was made? He had only two ways Rinoa's life would go. Remain here, or be sentenced to death. Live a life without Rinoa in it or… what? Spend the rest of his days hanging around the laboratory. Waiting for something to happen. For the answers to so many questions to be answered. It was something that made him shiver. He felt slightly numb, not wanting to spent the rest of his days lurking within the halls of the laboratory. Yet he couldn't imagine his life without Rinoa. He couldn't comprehend that she could die right now. She'd die, just as many of her victims had died.

He sat down on one of the sofas in silence, no longer wanting to continue this conversation. He couldn't stand it in here any longer. Yet he couldn't live with himself if he left Rinoa alone and got on with his life. He knew that if this went on any longer, that's what he would have to do. It made him ashamed to think these thoughts. But he knew if she did anything else, if he witnessed her hurting anymore people, he would give up on her. He wouldn't be able to face being here and waiting on her.

What Squall Leonhart thought just then scared him. He was losing hope. Starting to give up on her already. It had been a week since he had been in the same room as her. Since he had held her and spoke to her in soothing words, telling them both that everything would be okay. That all she had to do was let them know who had done this to her, what had made her do the things she did. Hyne, he wished there were some other force driving her. He wanted someone to point the finger at. Someone to attack. A conclusion to this mess. He was fed up of losing hope.

The two sat in silence. Neither wanting to spend any more time discussing something which couldn't be solved. They both had their own demons to deal with, without getting involved in the others life. Yet they were both the same. They were both tangled within this mess, not knowing what to do or where to go to next. There was no where to go. Everyone just had to sit and wait. And wait some more. All people ever seemed to do now was wait for something bad to happen.

Time passed by slowly in the waiting room. The only noise coming from the ticking of a clock on the wall in the room. Neither man looked at each other. It was as if they didn't exist. Too lost in their own thoughts to acknowledge that the world was going by without them. Hope was something that kept people going in times of need. When everything is falling apart and crumbling at the touch, hope and faith was the one that was supposed to remain. And right now, time had made even hope begin to fade.

Eventually there was a knock at the door. The sound booming through the steady silence that had passed by. The door opened and footsteps of people sounded as a doctor and young woman entered the room. Squall had spoken to Dr Zain daily since he had first come to the laboratory, he had gotten to know all of the scientists and doctors that were stood by Rinoa. Today however, he was faced with a girl no older than himself. She looked down at him with her emerald eyes with a look he wasn't quite sure how to read.

"Squall, this is Eve," Dr Zain stated, gesturing to the girl beside him. "She's a sorceress that visited with General Caraway today."

"Nice to meet you," Squall said, all enthusiasm gone from his voice. It didn't matter who he met or spoke to, no one would change what had happened. The girl responded to him with a small smile and a nod of her head.

"If you haven't heard already, Eve has just had a small chat with Rinoa," the doctor sounded different, more positive than he had in a long time. He only had to say a few simple words that made Squall's world change once more. Again, the tides of fate were shifting ever so slightly. His words left Squall feeling a sense of both relief and envy at the same time.

"She spoke, Squall."

She looked different from a week ago. He couldn't help but notice as he stood in the doorway which led into her small confined room. It made him almost shiver to be here again, just knowing what had happened last time. The reason he had spent the last week away from this place. Away from her. His biggest fear. Remembering what she did back then was the nightmare that had been lingering in the back of his mind since she had become a burden. He remembered thinking sometimes back then, what if she did become like Ultimecia? What if she killed in cold blood?

He still remembered the yellow tint in her eyes through the raven hair that had fallen over her face. She looked like a monster. A sorceress. Nothing like the girl he saw in front of him now. Not this innocent girl. The girl he loved. The girl he had spent four years of his life almost worshipping the floor on which she walked. She fascinated him. She always had. And even now, after everything that had happened, he felt that same feeling deep within him. Making him dare to step into the room. Forcing him to forget his previous fears.

He felt almost under a spell as he came forward in the room, watching her sit still and silent on the chair beside her bed. The chair on which he had spent so many hours sat on as he watched her. Worried over her. As he came to sit on the bed he couldn't help feeling some sort of sick irony in it all. It was like they were in an alternate reality. This time Squall the mute criminal on the bed, and her on the chair beside him.

Yes, she seemed different. She seemed more alive than before. Her legs were brought up to her chest as her arms hugged herself. Her gaze faced the ground. Not looking at him. As if he didn't matter. He would never be able to help her, he realised that now. And that was the part that scared him the most.

"I hear you finally spoke," Squall stated, watching her intently. "I've sat by your side and never left this building since the day you were brought here and still you remain silent. Yet you'll speak to a girl you don't even know."

He left out a sigh, suddenly feeling the anger building up inside of him. Funny, it was always the strong emotions that came through when everything else was numb. Because that's all he felt at the moment. Fear, anger or the swelling numbness within him. He didn't know what else he could do.

His eyes kept on her as she raised her arm to push her fallen hair behind her ear. He couldn't help but realise that she never did anything like that before. She would usually just lie there, or sit huddled against a wall as if afraid to move. The building could've been falling down around her, and she wouldn't have flinched a muscle. But not now. It was such a small thing to pick up on, and anyone else probably wouldn't have noticed the change, but Squall had sat watching her hours all the time he had been here. He had had time to analyse these things. Something had changed within her since the attack on the Galbadian Soldiers. He knew that now.

Perhaps she wasn't so afraid as before. He wondered if that was the case. Usually she seemed to press her body against a wall as if she just wanted to become the wall. Like no one would see her and she'd eventually fade away if she stayed silent and still long enough. Now she sat away from a wall. On a chair with her face on show. Her eyes still held that empty gaze, but her body seemed to look different. It looked proud. Alive. Not the fragile little girl he had seen before.

"I'm sorry I haven't been here the last week," he said. Suddenly feeling guilty. He wanted all the hope back. Hyne, he wanted just to feel happy with her like he used to. Just for five minutes. What he wouldn't give just to see her old self again. Why had he spent the last week afraid of her? He should have been there for her. Maybe it would have been him that she asked help from instead of Eve. Maybe after the last attack she had finally decided that now was the time to talk. To get help. And where had Squall been? Hiding away from her.

"I'm not going to leave you alone again," he whispered. "I promise."

Slowly, he moved his hand to hold hers where it hugged her leg. He just wanted to hold her. To feel her touch against him. But a part of him felt weary, not wanting to push her too far. All he wanted right now was for her to know that he was there. And this time he meant it. No matter how much he would fear her. He didn't want to act like a little boy anymore.

Her hands felt soft against his skin. Soft and warm. Again the word alive came running through his mind. She was alive. That was all that mattered right now, and he was grateful at that fact because he never wanted to be separated from her again. He wanted to stay with her, to keep her safe. He felt a small squeeze gripping on his hand, and when he looked down he saw that she was returning the gesture. Entwining her fingers with his.

He couldn't help but smile for a brief moment. Her face was still empty and emotionless. Lost in a daze of loneliness and confusion. That same mute look about her. But she knew he was here. She was holding his hand. And that was all that mattered.

As he sat there with her, he was surprised to hear a small humming sound coming from Rinoa, as if she was humming a non existent tune. Then, as a small child does when lost within their own innocent world, she began to sing. Her voice was quiet and soft, but it was there non the less. Her song made him feel both relief and horror at the same time. It made a cold chill run down his spine.

"_Look and see the sky turn red,_

_Like blood it covers over me,_

_And soon the sea shall give up her dead,_

_We'll raise an empire from the bottom of the sea."_


	13. Chapter Thirteen Hopeless Chances

The Path Of Time

Chapter Thirteen

Sometimes it seems like the whole world is falling apart. You can try your hardest through blood and sweat to make it perfect again, and for a while everything does seem to be going fine. Then when you least expect it, fate turns cruel and the winds turn against you. Everything you once thought was there gets swept from under your feet. You thought in some innocent and childish way deep down this peace would last forever, even though you should know from experience, everything breaks. Everything eventually fades away and is replaced by the same endless darkness. The darkness that blocks that light at the end of the tunnel. It seems to go on forever, one thing after another being swallowed up into the thick blanket of evil. Or perhaps it is not evil. Perhaps it is called reality.

For Quistis, it felt like everything which was once built up was now breaking down. The harsh reality, that endless darkness where you're not even sure if there is an end at the tunnel was leaking through the small town of Trabia. Just as it seemed that the Garden was starting to stand on its own two feet and be able to run properly, chaos struck. It seemed every time cadets were sent on a mission, or left alone to roam into the town, someone was attacked or interrogated. So many cadets were being targeted for no reason at all. The infirmary was full of scared, and most recently injured students. No one could be trusted anymore. And all because of the Peace Makers.

Walking through the white streets of Trabia, Quistis couldn't help thinking she was walking through a ghost town. Everyone stayed indoors most of the time now. Even the residents of the town didn't like to go out unless they needed to, just in case they got involved in another fight between the cadets and the Peace Makers. They roamed the city like warriors. Looking for their enemies, and making sure that they caused fear wherever they went. Trabia Garden needed help, it needed all the help it could get. There was no way a small school of students could face a growing number of skilled fighters. However odd it seemed, considering they were once a group of Pacifists. Or so they claimed.

In the distance ahead of her she could see the hotel in which Seifer was located. She guessed he was there, most likely in the small pub downstairs. The blonde hurried her pace, keeping her hand at her side just in case she needed to use her weapon. She'd been listening out the whole journey to Trabia. It was something she never really thought she would need to do at such a place. You kept a look out for monsters in these places, not humans. It worried her how such a diminutive place where almost everyone knew each other could end up in this mess. Allowing these… 'Peace Makers' to take over and cause fear among the townspeople.

She had heard about the first attacks that had taken place. A young boy and girl had been visiting the town when three men ganged up on them. The boy got a minor injury, which was lucky, because she knew it could have got a lot worse. That is, if Seifer hadn't had intervened. He had helped them, and made sure that they got back to Garden safely. It was an act that shocked a lot of people, but not Quistis. She had seen this man inside Seifer. He was different now. That's what she really hoped anyway.

Since then there had been four more attacks on students. Four students had been beaten badly and were kept in the infirmary. There had been numerous more attacks, these less violent. A lot of students had abuse shouted at them, or fake blood thrown at them as had been the case weeks earlier. It seemed recently that not one student nor staff member could go out of Garden without being victimise. It saddened Quistis that people thought that way about SeeD. Of course there were always people that didn't agree with them. People who shared a non violent view upon life, similar to the people of Fisherman's Horizon, where they were used to a slower pace of life. A life that was safe. One that was nothing like what was going on here.

Turning the corner, she made her way up to the entrance of the smoky pub. Upon stepping inside, she saw that it was a lot quieter than it was the evening she came before. Only a few groups of young men and woman sat quietly having a drink. And of course in the far corner of the pub sat a blonde man, his back facing Quistis as he made his way through a bottle of whisky that sat on the table beside him. It had started to worry Quistis how much she saw Seifer drink. She shook the thought away, lecturing Seifer was something that she didn't want to do. Besides he was sat in a pub, what else was he to do?

Her steps echoed loudly on the wooden floor as she came around the table, pulling out a chair and sitting on it to face Seifer. It was when she saw his features that she let out a gasp. His left eye was swollen so much that he couldn't open it, his lip had a red scab where it had been split open. Watching him as he poured himself another glass of the brown liquor, she noticed that one of his arms were put in a makeshift sling of dirty ripped cloth.

"What's happened to you Seifer?" she asked before she could get control of herself. A sudden panic grew over her as she saw him in his injured state. She watched as he picked up the glass and swallowed the alcohol before even looking at her.

"I got a visit from a little friend," he said. His features were hard. Cold. He hated people seeing him when he was weak. "It's nothing to worry your pretty head about. What are you doing here anyway?"

The blonde looked at him in shock. He was trying to act as if everything was okay, like nothing mattered. "Seifer, you've been beaten up. Why…. Who…?" She couldn't even speak, her mind was thinking of too many things at once. It was one thing seeing the students being targeted, but this was getting out of hand. He looked in pain.

Seifer shrugged. "Like I said before, just a friend. It was a misunderstanding." He picked up the bottle, going to pour a glass. "You want some?" he offered. At seeing the shake of her head, he shrugged, ignoring the pain and downed the whisky, poured himself another glass and did the same again.

Quistis watched him silently, unsure of what to do. She knew he could be stubborn sometimes, but this was just stupid. "Have you got your injuries checked by a doctor?" she asked,

"No."

"So you're just planning on drinking away the pain?"

The question stopped him a moment. Normally a comment like that would have made him angry, but after pouring another glass he simply raised it towards her, as if performing a toast. "That's right," he gave her a sarcastic smile and a wink before pouring the contents into his mouth.

She let out a sigh, suddenly feeling annoyed at him. Worried, but annoyed. For a short while, she just sat by and watched him drink. Every so often he would move a certain way and draw in a sharp breath of pain, then continue to drink some more. She wondered if he'd been doing this to himself all day, but at the same time noted that he didn't tell her to get the hell away from him as at one point she would have expected him to. He didn't look happy at her being sat there, but he didn't push her away. And for that she was grateful for. Since seeing him for the first time since the Sorceress war four years ago, she guessed deep down she had been worried about him. What had become of him? He was alone and away from the rest of the world. She could probably guess he didn't have many friends. No people to stand by him when he needed it.

"Seifer…" she started. "Come back to the infirmary at the Garden, please."

He looked at her, suddenly anger showing through his features. "No," he said. Another glass of whisky drowning the anger away.

"I understand that you don't want to go back to SeeD especially after all that's happened. But just for a day or two at least, until you're wounds are a little better and then-"

"I said no!" He slammed his glass down on the table, staring at Quistis in rage. The few people in the pub looked at him briefly. It seemed he always made a fool of himself in public recently. "You don't understand, do you? It's because of you and your stupid SeeD friends that this happened. I told you I didn't want to get involved in all of this, but you keep running over here and trying to persuade me to help you. Well I'm not a part of that anymore. I've moved on with my life!"

Quistis stopped, stunned at his outburst. "Seifer… every time a student goes out of the Garden they get attacked. Or do you not even care that innocent young people are getting hurt by people twice as strong as them?" she looked at him, unsure of how she should feel. What was she to feel? "I'm just asking that you go to see a doctor. The Garden is the safest place for you right now."

He looked at her suddenly. "And why is Garden so safe for me Instructor? I don't belong there."

"The Peace Makers did this to you, didn't they?" his expression told her all she needed to know. She nodded thinking to herself. "Whether you like it or not Seifer, you're involved in this. Not because of me, or SeeD, but yourself. You're the one who stepped out of nowhere and came into our lives again, when you could've remained hidden."

The blonde man remained silent as he poured another glass. Seeing his silence, Quistis stood from her seat, realising this trip was pointless. "I thought you'd changed Seifer, you're still the selfish bastard you always were."

"I'm sorry you got that impression," Seifer said coldly.

With rage Quistis turned on her heels to walk away, when she stopped suddenly in her tracks. She turned back to face Seifer. "By the way, thank you for looking after the two cadets the other day. It meant a lot to them."

With that, she turned away from him and made her way out into the snow. Back to Garden, with students there who needed her. She had only come to thank Seifer, and she found herself leaving with anger at him and herself. He was right, she had relied on him. She just felt angry that Garden hadn't been there to protect him, as he had protected the students.

* * *

The door of the room came open with a small hiss, and she found herself once again surprised by the thick air that surrounded her, pressing in on her. As she walked it felt like she was wading through water, her legs couldn't function as they would normally. Yet the woman beside her gracelessly made her way inside, unaware of what it was like for someone who possessed powers within. For a Sorceress, this room was pressing onto the very presence that was in her blood. What made her who she was.

Eventually she came to sit beside the woman, she was a very tall middle aged woman, with curly locks of hair that twisted into a braid down her back. She had an air of authority around her, but at the same time she looked kind enough. And when she spoke her voice carried a certain softness and patience to it.

"Hello Rinoa," she said facing the bed on which the black haired girl lay. She was on her stomach, her head resting in her arms as if she were a young adolescent dreaming about a new crush. "My name is Kim White, I am a psychiatrist here in Esthar. I've come here with Eve to perhaps talk to you."

Eve sat silent next to her, a thudding pain starting to throb between her eyes. Since she had been the only person to ever get Rinoa to speak, she had been asked to persuade the girl to talk. Doctor Zain had explained everything to her. They needed Rinoa to talk before anyone could make a decision with what to do with her, and because everyone knew it was only time before someone else would try and take her back. Most likely President Deling and his Galbadian Army.

They needed Eve to make Rinoa speak. Her being able to talk meant that people could finally take action. If Rinoa was possessed, they could send someone out to search and find the person who was behind all of this and try to put a stop to it. If however it was Rinoa behind all the attacks, then Eve knew that she would be sentenced to death. She wanted to know why though. Why had such a girl attacked so many people? The only reason she had agreed was because she wanted to know. She _needed _to know.

Leaning forward Eve reached out her hand and stroked Rinoa's arm gently. "Rinoa, I know that you're afraid, but I need you to talk to Kim. Just the once," she saw the girl turn her head slightly and look at her. She was listening at least. "I promised that I'd come to help you, but I can't unless you speak. Okay?"

The girl didn't respond, only moved slightly so she was facing the two properly. Her gaze watched them both intently. It held a sense that didn't say she was going to speak, nor did it say she wasn't going to. It was as if she were waiting for something.

"I know that you're probably afraid right now, so we'll take this nice and slow. If I go to a point that you don't want to go over, raise your hand and we'll take it a little slower until you're ready to tell us. You only have to do this once Rinoa. We're only here to know what's happened, we're not here to judge."

The psychiatrist turned to a clipboard which she held against her chest and studied it a moment. "Right Rinoa," she started. "It says here that you went missing for six months. We know that you were with your boyfriend Squall that night, and when he woke up that morning you were gone. I assume you left Garden in the early hours of the morning."

Rinoa just simply stared at her, her eyes glazed in some deep thought no one knew. "Where did you go from there Rinoa?"

It was as if she wasn't even heard. She didn't show any sign of response. Fumbling through the paper in her clipboard, Kim pulled out a map unfolding it and placing it on the bed beside Rinoa.

"Can you show me where you went?"

Rinoa didn't move. It made Eve get a bad feeling when she looked at her. She had only said one thing to Eve, perhaps it was out of desperation or she just needed to call out to someone. No matter who it was. "Come on Rinoa," she said gently. "We really want to help you, but we need you to speak to us first"

For a moment, Rinoa looked up at Eve, her eyes holding something which almost made her shiver. She felt the guilt within her. She felt her resilience of wanting to go think about all that she had done again. Her eyes were wide, looking for answers, waiting for something. Eve gave a small nod to Rinoa, understanding the girls fear, ensuring her that it was alright. But she couldn't help feeling that there was something else within that nod. Something a little deeper.

It was then that Rinoa turned back to the map, hesitantly bringing up her right hand and pointing to a place on the map. At doing this she turned her eyes to the ground, her mind recalling the memories of that time. The little girl she had killed. The girl who still haunted her dreams, still stared at her through her blistered body and the flamed that still danced along her already dead body. They all came back to her at some point. They never wanted her to forget.

"Dollet," Kim observed looking over where Rinoa's hand was pointing. "How did you get there? By train?"

Slowly, Rinoa nodded her head watching Kim's warm smile in response and feeling Eve stroke her arm gently. Soothing her like a mother would a child. Or like she were an animal, being petted and stroked. She thought the latter were probably more true. She certainly didn't feel human at the moment.

"It's a nice little journey by train, then what did you do?" she probed. The girl stayed silent, watching the psychiatrist intently. "What happened when you were there?"

Her eyes quickly fell to the ground. In her mind she could hear the screams of a young child. The first of her victims to die by her hand. She had that power, no one else. It was her decision when to use it and when not to. When walking past someone, she would be the one who could simply raise her hand and kill them. The thought always scared the hell out of her, not because of the power, but because deep down it caused her a strange excitement. It almost made her smile. She enjoyed knowing that. Rinoa enjoyed the power.

She looked back up at Kim, the woman giving her an expectant look. Wanting answers from her. She knew that her story would have to come out sometime. The thing was, it pained her to even think about it. She wasn't ready to talk about the pain she had caused. She wondered if there was ever a time when she would be ready. She didn't want this. It was bringing up all the pain from the past. Rinoa raised her hand, signalling that she didn't like the topic. She wanted to end this. It was as if her victims were here in the room with her. Forcing her to tell them all her story. What terrible things she had done.

"Okay Rinoa," Kim said realising that it would be hard to get all of this out of her. "I want you to close your eyes and think of a day in Dollet when something big happened. Imagine it in your mind. Can you tell me anything small about where you are? What you're doing? Or even something around you."

Rinoa closed her eyes as instructed, and it was as if she were back in Dollet, back in that terrible day. It made her shudder, she let out a small weep as she knew what she was going to witness again. Everything was so clear in her mind, she could even feel the wind blowing through her hair. It was a sunny day that day, but the wind was freezing.

"Cold."

She said it with a shiver running through her, and as Kim watched her she saw that the girls arms had come out in goosebumps. "It's a cold day where you are?" she asked. Rinoa nodded, then shook her head as if confused. "You're not cold then?"

"Everyone's warm, but I'm cold."

"What's around you?"

"A girl playing with a ball."

"What else is going on?"

Silence a brief moment. Then Rinoa spoke up again, her voice was hoarse and quiet but it gave off a cold harsh tone. "It doesn't matter. It's the girl."

"What about the girl?"

"She's going to betray someone badly, so I get angry at her."

"Why is she going to betray someone?"

"I can feel it."

Kim nodded her head silently, then checked her clipboard. "What did you do about it?"

"I kill her."

Her voice was so colourless, it cut through the silence of the room. Through Rinoa's head she could see herself raising her arm, sending fire out towards the girl. The screams of her mother and the child echoing in her head. It made her feel odd. She wasn't sure whether at that moment in time she wanted to laugh or cry. Either one would be so hysterical she knew she would probably laugh or cry until there was nothing else left in her. Until all of her sanity was gone. So she stayed quiet, and waiting for the next question.

"Is there anything else within you, like another presence? Do you know if you were possessed?"

"Just me," she said with a shake of her head.

"So you're alone at this point. You killed her by your own free will."

"I kill her."

"What happened after that?"

"I don't remember."

Rinoa opened her eyes finally and looked at the psychiatrist. Her memories of that time were vague, it was as if she was in some sort of daze. Not possessed. She knew that for certain. After being possessed by a Sorceress before it was so much different from that. It was Rinoa doing everything. No one else.

"What is the next thing that you remember?"

Rinoa looked again on the map and pointed her finger to the destination. It was the outskirts of the Galbadian continent.

"Do you remember anything between there and Dollet?"

"Blood…"

"What do you mean 'blood'?"

"People dying."

"How did they die?"

Rinoa paused a moment. "I killed them."

"How many did you kill?"

She shrugged, as if she didn't care. There had been so many. She had lost count. Her head was cloudy, one death just led into the other. She remembered that time in a vivid kind of way. It was when she had finally realised what she was capable of. It led up to the peak of her powers, where she started to enjoy the power and to lavish in seeing the fear on people's faces. They would always beg for mercy. Everybody always begged. No one wanted to die from the hand of a Sorceress. Everybody was scared of her. She knew that then.

Kim looked down and checked her notes once more. "Rinoa, I have information here that says you were sighted in murders of people in places such as Winnhill, Deling City and even at one point you were on the outskirts of Esthar. Hundreds of people died, the witnesses describing you as the person who did it. Do you remember any of this?"

It was then that the tears came. All of the guilt from victims that she had somehow been buried deep down inside of her came to the surface. She remembered the face of every victim she killed. She remembered them all. And the part that she remembered the most was yearning for more. Wanting more victims. More people to kill, like it was some sort of terrible addiction that she couldn't stop. She cried in guilt for those that she had caused pain too.

Eve stroked her gently, trying to comfort her in all that she had admitted. It shocked her that someone could go so far. How one day someone could just lose control. She figured that most Sorceresses did at some point in there lives. One can't walk around everyday with so much power building inside of them without at least once getting the wondering urges to use it. To wonder how powerful they actually are.

Eventually Rinoa stopped crying and quietened down. She was tired of holding all of this guilt inside of her, but at the same time it hurt like hell to bring it all out. She watched Kim, knowing that her questions wouldn't stop. Everyone wanted answers from her.

"Okay Rinoa, lets go to the Galbadian base camp where you were found. Tell me, did you plan to go there?"

Rinoa shook her head.

"How did you end up at such a place?"

"I don't know."

She looked at the girl surprised. "Their camp is in the middle of nowhere, its hardly something that you can just stumble upon is it?"

"I don't know."

"So you're saying you just came across it one day, and then decided what to do."

"I was drawn towards it." She didn't quite know how to explain what had happened. It was as if there was some sort of magnetic pull, making her want to go out there. Whenever she saw a Galbadian Soldier it made her feel sick with anger. She felt the blood rush around her body. She could feel her powers twitching at the need to be used. It was a vague memory, but she did indeed somehow come across it.

"What did you do when you got there?"

The question was like plunging a knife into her. She remembered everything clearly now. Remembered seeing the soldiers guarding the doors. Training outside. There were so many. The anger built up inside of her once more. It felt like her blood was so hot it was becoming to boiling point, bubbling around her body. It had made her whole body ache just trying to hold in her magic. It took all of her strength to hold in her urges like her mind and body were two completely different things. Eventually she just… lost all control of herself.

"I snapped," she whispered.

In her mind she could see herself once more. She was walking up towards the soldiers at the doors, seeing them eyeing her suspiciously. No civilians came up here. It was strictly their training base. They were just about to ask her what she was doing here, when she threw them into the wall with her magic. She walked through all of the walls and burnt people alive, drowned people, tore people apart. She couldn't remember how many rooms she had gone in and how many people she had injured. She just continued to use her powers until she could no longer. Until she finally fell unconscious from exhaustion.

"You injured all of the soldiers that day, again, from your own free will. Not possession."

She nodded her head, at the same time remembering when she had awoken in that room. She had seen the limbs and swollen faces staring at her. The falls and floor was covered in a thick coat of blood. All of her body was smeared in the crimson of her victims. She screamed then, in her mind and out loud. Why had she allowed herself to do such a thing? Why hadn't she stayed safe with Squall, the reason why she hadn't snapped any sooner?

"Why did I do it?" she screamed, pulling free of Eve's grasp. She crawled backwards away from the two women in fear of herself. What if she hurt someone else? She reached the end of the bed and fell off in a loud thud, ignoring the pain in her back and making her way against the wall. She knew she would either laugh or cry hysterically. And the answer seemed to be crying. Although she wasn't sure if she was laughing as well at what she had become.

It felt much like the day she had been found in the base camp. Everything was a blur. She ignored the voice around her and was afraid to look up. Just in case she saw the faces of everyone she had killed. She pulled at her hair trying to tell herself this was a dream. This was all some sort of horrible dream that she would soon wake up from. She locks of her that fell loosely into her hands from her scalp told her otherwise. This was real.

She screamed and cried in her own self guilt until the doctors rushed in, pulling her back to the bed and sticking a needle into her arm. She felt like she was going insane. She knew she was going to drive away her sanity one day. It was all to much to bear, all of this guilt.

"Why did I do it?" she screamed once more before she found herself falling into an uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

The room was cold and damp leaving a musky smell in the air, making the building which usually seemed so warm and smoky to be a completely different place. It was usually places like this that were kept for people who couldn't afford anything expensive. For people who struggled to get money and keep the house maintenance up to date. However, he knew for a fact that the owner of this room was far from poor. 

The stale taste of whisky still lingered in his mouth from earlier. It had seemed like a good idea to drink away the pain from his wounds. To pretend that they didn't exist and drink until perhaps he could no longer feel that pain. How stupid he had been. He always had days where he pitied himself, this being one of them. It usually came over him so sudden like a wave pushing him back out to see, when he'd only just managed to get the courage and swim to safety. To be able to stand on his own two feet without the fear or the constant voices in the back of his mind. He yearned for the days when he was too young and arrogant to care about what other people thought. Just as long as he got what he wanted, and achieved all he could, that was what had mattered in the once eighteen year olds mind. Now four years on, he found himself struggling to find that kick he used to have. The motivation it took to just get out of bed in the morning was sometimes hard to summon.

He looked up at the large man in front of him. Dawson, the owner of the bar and hotel had called him into his room. His words had been simple, the well muscled man was always one to get straight to the point. He was never one for sensitivity.

"I want you to leave."

Somehow the words hadn't surprised Seifer. He couldn't begin to remember how many people had said that to him. He had never found a permanent home. It seemed just as he had found somewhere that he felt comfortable, that he felt as home, he would be advised to leave.

"That's fine and everything," Seifer said blankly. He pointed to his face, showing his injuries. "Could I at least stay until my wounds are healed? I'm happy roaming around all night if I need to, but only as long as I can defend myself."

Dawson shook his head. "I'm aware of your injuries. The Peace Makers made it clear that they don't like you. They made it so clear that they want you gone from this place. I know you're injured, but if you stay here any longer it might happen again. I don't want the punters being scared away either, you understand?"

Reluctantly Seifer nodded his head, "Yes, best worry about the customers. They're not the ones getting kicked around like meat."

The bar tender ignored his harsh tone, disappearing into one of the rooms briefly before coming back with a bag. Seifer recognised it immediately. It was his bag, which he guessed was already full of his belongings.

"Well you've been busy," he said raising an eyebrow. "I even have my bags packed for me. I certainly do feel special."

His bags were pushed into his chest roughly by Dawson. "Don't mess around Seifer, just leave now." He led him out to the main exit of the pub. It was then that Seifer stopped abruptly and turned facing him, a look of anger clear on his face.

"Why are you siding with them? I've seen you, Dawson. You don't take shit from no one. No matter who they are."

"This times different, Seifer."

He opened the doors to his pub gesturing for Seifer to leave. The blonde smirked, realising that was Dawson's way of telling him the get the fuck out of his pub. If it were anyone else he would probably stand his ground and try and change their mind. But Dawson was a tough man. He was strong. No one messed with him. It surprised him at the fact that the Peace Makers could have such an affect.

Once he stepped out into the freezing temperatures of the town he heard the doors slam closed behind him. Seifer threw his bag down in rage. Another place to turn him out. Throw him out in the street like some sort of street urchin.

"Dammit!" he yelled. Punching his fist into the wall of the pub. The pain that rushed through his hand made him immediately regret his actions. He pulled his fist back, observing the blood that now made its way down his knuckles. With a growl of rage he gave the wall and angry kick, again only being mocked by the pain that shot through his legs.

"That's it Seifer, you show that wall who's boss."

The blonde man turned around to see a tall cowboy making his way towards him, an amused grin on his face at watching Seifer's sudden rage.

"What do you want?" Seifer yelled irritably, really not wanting to face anyone right now. Especially someone like Irvine.

The cowboy adjusted his hat, taking in the scenery before him. "You get kicked out of here then?" he asked, stepping forward and leaning on the wall which apparently seemed to be Seifer's arch enemy at present time. The looked he got from the blonde gave him all the answers he needed to know. Raising his hands in the air, Irvine gestured that he wasn't here to cause him any harm.

"Chill man, I'm only here to talk" Irvine spoke up realising that Seifer was still glaring at him. "Do you have anywhere else to go, since you're not living here anymore."

"Not yet," Seifer responded, leaning down to retrieve his bag. He stopped halfway through his action, drawing in a sharp breath at the pain in his stomach. It hurt him to even bend. He realised through his struggle to find a comfortable position which allowed him to bend down, Irvine watching him the whole time would see him in his weakness. Hyne, he hated people seeing him hurt. It made him feel weak, when he knew that he was fine on his own. It seemed that throughout Seifer's life he had only ever truly been happy when he felt above people. When he knew that he was stronger than people, more intelligent than them. Something to feel proud about. He was an arrogant bastard at one point in his life. How he longed to be eighteen again. It was amazing what four years could do to a man.

He heard the crunching of snow on the ground as footsteps approached into his line of vision. It was Irvine, reaching down to retrieve Seifer's bag. Although it was only a small gesture, it sparked off another wave of anger. Like a jolt of electricity running through him, he glared at the cowboy.

"I don't need your charity, dammit!"

Holding the bag in his hands, Irvine studied the blonde carefully. Seifer's anger not even stunning Irvine. He expected Seifer to be like this. It was when Seifer did something to help other's. When he turned up out of nowhere and starts to act like some sort of nice guy. That was a side to Seifer that stunned Irvine. Granted, he realised that there most likely had always been that part to Seifer. He'd seen the way he'd been around his posse. The way he respected Fujin and Raijin. He guessed that this was a side of Seifer that wasn't well known. He probably liked being the tough guy. There was always someone in any military force that had that same attitude. They always had to be doing something big. They were always the idiots.

"It's just a stupid bag Seifer," forcefully he threw the bag at Seifer, watching him catch it and cringe slightly at the pain in his body from the quick action. It made Irvine feel slightly satisfied inside. A part of him still the same as it was four years ago watching Seifer turn not only against SeeD, but the only family he ever had. He sighed, realising he had to let the passed go. "Quistis seemed really pissed at something when she came back from here this morning. I assume she came to see you."

"And you're assuming its my fault?" The look he got from Irvine told him all he needed to know. He took a few steps forward to the side of the pub, leaning himself against it, feeling exhausted inside. He was tired of all of this. "I'm not part of SeeD or this mess you've got yourself in with those stupid protestors. She needs to stop running for me like I'm one of you."

Irvine raised an eyebrow. "And the fact that you've been beaten by them doesn't spark up any ideas that just possibly you are in fact part of this too?" he walked closer to Seifer. "You're a part of this whether you want to be or not. You're involved in SeeD matters again. And the only reason why Quistis keeps coming to you is because she's the only one who really trusts you after everything that you've done."

"Well maybe I don't want her trust, and I certainly don't want to be a part of this. So leave me be." He stepped away from the wall and began to walk away. His anger not settling within him. This certainly wasn't one of the best days of his life.

"Where are you gonna go Seifer?

"I don't care, just as long as I'm nowhere near SeeD."

He heard running coming from behind him. Irvine was catching up with him. Why the hell was he still hear? Since when has Quistis or Irvine ever cared what he did or where he went? He was tired of everything changing. Of people always acting differently towards him. He never knew where he as anymore. Was he the enemy? The friend? The charity? He didn't know.

He saw the tall man walking beside him. If it didn't hurt him so badly, he would've run away like some small child. He really didn't care anymore what people thought of him. What would it matter if they thought he was a coward. No… that certainly wasn't right he realised. The last thing he wanted to do now was show people he was afraid. What the hell was happening to him?

"As much as it annoys me to say this, I think Quistis is right. You should come back to Garden." He saw Seifer stop suddenly and glare at him. It was that same look in his eyes before he used to fight so many years ago. That flare within him sparking to life. "Hey hey, I meant only to go to the Infirmary at Garden. No matter what Quistis thinks of you, I certainly don't want you sticking round Garden for too long… Does it hurt?"

Seifer looked puzzled for a moment, then realised that he meant his injuries. His clothes were still covered in his own blood. His stomach and arms still swelled with violent bruises. "All the time," he responded honestly.

"Then come back. Not to wind yourself back into Garden, but to get checked over. As much as I despise you for what you did all them years ago, I certainly don't want you to die from something as stupid as pneumonia or some injuries from a group of idiots."

The statement always made him laugh. He had always imagined himself dying in a battle. That was the way he wanted to die. In the prime of the battle, where he gave everything he had. Certainly not from having nowhere to go and sleeping out in the cold, as would happen in Trabia tonight. He still had things he had left to do, and redeeming himself was something that was high on this list. Redeeming himself and fighting one last time. Only this time he would fight on the right side. Not following some stupid adolescent dream.

He looked at Irvine a moment, feeling unsure about what to do or which way to turn. He had nowhere to go tonight, there only being one hotel in the small town. The streets weren't safe anymore. He'd probably be dead by the morning if he stayed the night in an alley. He'd done that before, and it was bad enough when he was healthy and still had his weapon. Now he was weapon less, and couldn't even bend down to reach his bag. Letting out a sigh, he caved in slightly.

"Fine, but I'm only staying as long as I have to."

"Then you'll get the hell away from us and life can go back to normal?"

He nodded. "Of course."


	14. Chapter 14

-1The Path Of Time

Chapter Fourteen

He couldn't move. The darkness enveloped around him. Lingering over him like some uncomfortable blanket. He tried to move his arms, his legs. Anything. His attempts always failed. It was as if his body were paralysed, while his thoughts lingered somewhere in a place far away from the physical world. He felt close to reality, but not close enough. Hyne, why couldn't he even move a finger?

At first his mind fluttered in and out of consciousness. Falling in and out of restless dreams. Sometimes he wasn't even sure which was a reality, the constant nightmares that left him screaming in his mind. Dreams that seemed to make him feel like he was losing his sanity. The scariest kind of dreams, the ones where you can't even recall what had happened, only you know that it was something bad. Something awful that still lingers in your self conscious. And then there was the times where he was awake, although he wasn't even sure if it could be called 'awake'. It was the times where it was his thoughts alone in the darkness. Unable to move a muscle, but conscious enough to know what he was thinking.

Sometimes he heard distant voices calling out to him. He'd feel a presence nearby, or lightly feel a touch of a hand brush past his. It felt alien to him though, almost dreamlike as he lay within his mind full of darkness. He felt a pull of energy bring him back to reality. He could think properly now, before it had only been a series of thoughts in between his nightmares. Nightmares of being taunted by… something. He couldn't remember for the life of him.

A faint sound stirred his thoughts slightly. It was a soft tone, almost humanlike. Like a woman's voice somewhere in the distance, he couldn't be sure though. His mind was so scattered, so delirious that he couldn't even comprehend that he couldn't move. It didn't panic him that he was stuck in this darkness for Hyne knows how long. It felt like an age. Like he was in some sort of limbo, waiting for his moment of judgement.

The first thing he noticed was the sudden yearning for water. His mouth felt like sand paper, and as he swallowed he found no relief, only a sharp pain running down his throat. Next to hit him was the pain that throbbed throughout his body. His body felt so worn and painful, like every muscle in his body had been strained. As if every bone in his body crushed. He willed his mind as hard as he could to move his hands, and to his surprise it worked. He felt his hand move slightly. It was a revelation that almost made him want to laugh out loud if he could, his head however was still lost within the darkness. Only his feeling was returning.

"Seifer..?"

That faint sound again, only this time he realised that it _was _a female voice. And they were calling his name. The touch of another against his forehead brought his eyes to flutter open slightly. Light flooded through, it took him a few moments to get used to the brightness after having been lost within that darkness for what felt like so long.

Above him a woman's face came into view, her blonde hair that was usually held back neatly now fell down her face giving her an air of beauty. He watched as she smiled slightly upon seeing him gaze up at her. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she turned away to look behind her.

"I'm glad you've finally awoken, Seifer," another woman's voice called out. This one sounded older, which matched the face of a middle aged woman now approaching his bed. She adjusted the pair of glasses that balanced on the bridge of her nose.

"Where am I?" Seifer asked, his voice hoarse. It seemed to take all his energy to even speak, he felt so tired.

"You don't remember?" the woman looked surprised, raising an eyebrow. "You agreed to come here with Irvine, four days ago. It seems we're lucky he found you, or else you would've collapsed somewhere in the snow and who knows what could've happened to you then."

He thought hard, remembering that day he was kicked out of his home. His conversation with Irvine as he was persuaded to return to Garden. He remembered walking in the snow, seeing the Garden in the distance, but after that it all went blank. "I… I don't remember how I got here," he said, suddenly realising what had happened.

The woman nodded, "You passed out before you even got into the Garden, Irvine had to carry you here himself. You've suffered a bad fever, most likely from those wounds you bear. You're in safe hands now, Seifer." The woman leaned down close to him, watching him intently. "My name is Alison Beck, I'm the headmistress of Trabia Garden. We'll speak later."

He watched as Alison turned her attention to Quistis, who had been sat silently beside them. "Come now Quistis, let our guest get some rest."

Seifer lay still as he saw the two women stood and walked out of the room leaving him alone with his thoughts. The thought that he was alone inside Trabia Garden left him feeling slightly uneasy. Suddenly he wasn't so sure whether he wanted to be here. He didn't know if he was ready for all of this, just to go back to the way his life used to be. He fell into a restless sleep of nightmares that he was familiar with, yet that was of no comfort to him. It only made it feel all the more scary, knowing where his dreams would lead him to.

When he next awoke, he found himself still to be alone but feeling remarkably better. He no longer felt pulled into the depths of unconsciousness. He was awake and aware of where he was. It was the first time he took the time to look at his surroundings. The room was a small sterile white, as would be expected of an Infirmary room. It was a basic room, with bed and a cabinet beside it. There was also a chair that was at his bedside, he recalled seeing Quistis their at his earlier awakening. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for, it could have been a mere ten minutes, or even another few days could have past. He wasn't sure anymore.

A glass of water sat beside him on the bedside table, and upon seeing it he realised that his desperate thirst lingered over him until he grabbed the glass and eagerly emptied the content. The water was cold, as it slid down his throat leaving him feeling temporarily satisfied. He leaned his head back against the pillow a moment, closing his eyes. There was no window in this room, it was lit up by a light running down the centre of the room. As he closed his eyes, he could hear the gentle hum of the lights above him.

A click of the door took him from his momentary serenity as he saw a red haired woman enter the room. She wore a white uniform as she studied a chart in front of her. She smiled sweetly as she realised he was staring at her.

"Hello Seifer, I'm glad that you're finally awake. How are you feeling?" she asked placing a hand against his forehead. He realised that she must be a nurse that worked here. Although she seemed to look quite young, at closer inspection he realised she was possibly older than she looked. Her eyes held tiny lines around them, most likely from her job. He guessed it couldn't be easy helping the injured all the time. Especially in a Garden infirmary, kids were always eager to start training to early or get too arrogant leading to them being dragged to the infirmary. He mused at the thoughts of his earlier days in Garden. He guessed…he had been one of those kids. The scar on his face was all the evidence he needed.

"A lot better," he muttered as she quickly worked her way around him. He didn't really take notice of what she was doing, only constantly became more annoyed as she probed at him, going through the procedures he guessed.

"Okay," she said finally, looking satisfied. "The name's Annabelle. I'm a nurse here, so if you have any problems you should come straight back to me."

"Does that mean I can go?" Seifer asked, raising an eyebrow. As much as he didn't mind being here, he certainly didn't liked being nursed. He'd rather go on in pain than spend his day in the infirmary. It never was one of his favourite places. It always made him feel cramped, and he hated just lying around.

"Make sure that you take it slow, okay?" Annabelle stated, "You've just recovered from a nasty fever, and you need to take it easy on yourself. Alison said she wanted to see you as soon as you're awake and recovered enough. I'll bring your clothes in for you so you can change."

He nodded silently as he waited for his clothes, he finally felt glad to be out of the white bed clothes he had been given at the infirmary. Once he had changed, the Nurse gave him the directions to the whereabouts of Alison's office.

It wasn't until he began walking through the corridors of the Garden that it suddenly hit him that he was back. He was surrounded by SeeD's and students again, just as he had been when he once belonged to Garden. Although his environment was different, and these SeeD's belonged to Trabia, he couldn't help feeling odd. He felt like he didn't belong, like he never could belong. Perhaps he never had. Even back when he wanted to be a SeeD, he wondered if he had ever actually saw himself stood in the uniform and fighting for the Garden. And for the life of him now, he really couldn't remember. _Had _he ever truly wanted to be a SeeD? Or had it just simply been where his life had taken him too.

He made his way through the Garden quickly, not liking where his thoughts were going. He could see the students looking at him. Some of them turned to their friends and whispered to each other before laughing. Some even greeted him. It didn't feel right. None of this felt right at all. He wanted to lash out at the students, to stop their sneering, their smiles. He hated that. It took all of his will not to. _Just get to Alison's office, _he told himself.

He found himself pounding on her office, like some sort of scared child desperate to run away from bullies. The thought made him sick to his stomach. Seifer Almasy wasn't like this. He didn't run. He especially didn't run away from stupid students. They could mock him all he liked. He didn't care. They didn't know him. Or perhaps they did, didn't they? Everyone knew who Seifer was. _The Great Betrayer_, someone once called him. Well perhaps he had been, but this wasn't what he wanted to be. Hyne, he wasn't even sure what he wanted to be anymore.

The door opened and he found himself face to face with Alison. She didn't have to say anything, silently she ushered him inside her office and gestured for him to sit as she placed a steaming cup of coffee beside him.

"You look well Seifer," she spoke. The woman studied him through aging eyes, experience had taught Seifer she wanted more than just a civilised conversation with him. He realised that he was here for a reason. Hell, people always seemed to come to him for something these days. He was always passing through places, always having temporary relations with other people, he realised. But he was never in one place. Nothing was ever permanent. People just came and went. No one ever stayed.

"What do you want?" he asked, getting to the point.

Alison smiled slightly. "Cid was right about you ," she mused. He waited for her to explain, but she just sat there, her thoughts seeming to drift far away for a brief moment. She looked curious, as if something was troubling her deep down. There was a moment of silence, until she came out of her thoughts and turned her attention to Seifer once more.

"Welcome to Trabia Garden," she started. "I know that you have no duty here, meaning that you can come and go as you please, but I would like to ask a favour of you."

"What kind of favour?"

"This Garden needs your help. There's danger of a war starting up, and I'm afraid its starting here in Trabia of all places. The resources we have here are in no way as advanced as the other Garden's, which means we need all the help that we can get. I'd like you to join forces with us, to help us prevent any more attacks from the Peace Makers."

Letting out a sigh, Seifer sat back in his chair thinking a moment. He figured it would have been something along those lines. "I made it clear that I wasn't going to get involved in all of this anymore. What makes you think that I would help you?"

"Because I know that you want another chance."

Seifer looked at her, confused at her words. He saw Alison raise an eyebrow at him, studying him quizzically. Although he felt confused, deep down inside of him he understood perfectly what she was asking of him. It was what he had been yearning for, yet something he had been afraid of since the Sorceress war. His chance to prove himself. His forgiveness. Suddenly he didn't like how much this woman seemed to understand him. No one understood Seifer before, when had he become so transparent? It seemed everyone was reading him so easily recently.

"You don't want another chance, Seifer?"

He shook his head, adjusting himself uncomfortably in his seat. He was going to say something that would shock her. That would shock anyone who once knew him for what he used to be. "I don't know if I can," he started. "I gave up fighting a long time ago. I haven't used a Gunblade in years."

"Well then you'll have to learn again, and fast," she responded. "I know someone who can make the finest weapons, I'll have bring one of them to me tomorrow. In the meantime we have training weapons to use. You must begin training immediately."

He looked at her reluctantly, she was eager to have him fight. Hyne, he hadn't even said yes yet. He felt torn, part of him couldn't wait to pick up a Gunblade again and begin his training. He guessed it was a part of him that had been lost over the years, the part that kept him feeling alive. Sure, he knew how to protect himself from fighting, but to use a weapon again. That was something on a different level. There was a part of him deep down that wanted to run away. A part of him that didn't trust himself. What if he was lured onto the wrong side again?

"What if people don't want me to fight alongside them?" he said out loud, not realising he was speaking his thoughts. When had he been so sensitive to the world? He found himself so often letting his guard down and talking to people. He guessed that was something that came with age. At eighteen he felt like he could defeat the world single handed, now he knew he could not do things alone. His pride had always stood in his way, clouding what was right and wrong. He didn't want that again.

"The world has moved on since the Sorceress war, people always forget over time," she stated. "I've spoken to Cid. Once this is over you can stay here or return to Balamb as you wish. The world has forgiven you, Seifer."

He looked at her suddenly, not sure how to take the news. The world had forgiven him? He almost laughed, he would believe that when he saw it. People still gave him awkward glances as if he were some sort of monster when he walked in the street. A few wise asses would always come up to him giving him hassle, threatening him for the things he hadn't intended to do. And now he was forgiven? It didn't matter what Alison or anyone at Garden thought. He didn't feel forgiven. In Seifer's mind, he still hadn't paid his debt. There was so much more forgiveness that he needed.

He nodded, not sure what other response he could give to her. He couldn't accept what she had just said, but he wasn't going to protest either. Time would only tell what the world thought about him.

"Within the next few days some SeeD's from Balamb are going to be dispatched to Trabia to aid us along the way. Go and start your training now, Seifer. I've got work to do."

In the days that followed, Seifer began spending all his time training. A new Gunblade was sent to him, via the man that Alison had spoken about. It was a beautiful blade, very similar to his last weapon only this one felt lighter than he remembered his weapon to feel. It felt easier to use, as if it was meant for him.

Seifer had been advised to go into the Garden's training centre that was there for the students to use. He didn't however feel like fighting amongst the young students. They always stared at him, as they did whenever he was walking around Garden. On the second day he found himself walking outside of Garden and into the mountain areas where he found himself faced with monsters that required all his physical and mental abilities. If he lost concentration, it would be fatal for him.

He found himself clumsy at first, it made him wonder how he had allowed himself to get so unfit. His attacks were badly aimed, like the same skills of a young cadet just learning how to fight. After the first few battles, he seemed to get back into the mindset of when he used to be a skilled fighter. He started to enjoy himself a little more, being a little more daring, and a little faster each time.

It was good to be away from the town and Garden. When he fought, it was just him and his enemy in their own little world. Nothing else mattered outside of it. He found his old fire come back. That yearning to be strong. To be a soldier. It made him realise what had been missing in his life for so long. Seifer was a fighter. No matter what side he fought on or where his life lead him, he needed to be the one to fight. It was what he had built so many years of his life becoming, and he had tried to throw that away because he was afraid? He needed to be afraid of who his enemies were, not the actual fighting he realised.

He got lost in a world of dodging and attacking, casting magic and defeating these monsters. Beads of sweat formed on his brow, as his breathing began to quicken. He ignored it though, he was going to fight until he had no energy left, just like he used to. Just like he still needed to do to feel alive.

His thoughts lingered back to his previous fears. The precautions he had taken to prevent himself doing the wrong thing. How his guilt had eaten away at him, it had made him give up everything he lived for. So much so that he could never forgive himself. It all made sense to him now. He could never forgive himself until he went back to where he left off at his life. His _real _life. Not the façade he had forced himself to live over the years. Yes, his real life had stopped the moment he threw away his gunblade off a cliff and into the sea in his own self pity.

He remembered that day well, it had almost been him that had been thrown from that cliff if he had enough courage. Fortunately he still had too much pride back then to give in so easily. He had lost the people he held dear to him, and everyone else in the world scorned him wherever he went, but he would not give in. He was a difficult bastard at the best of times, but this was Seifer. This was who he really was. The son of a bitch that never stopped. The one that always wanted to be the better man.

He almost felt eighteen again, ready to take on the world. He had the skill that he used to have. He was still _Seifer. _He could feel it within him each time he swooped to attack another monster. Each time he dodged another blow. It was the adrenaline that was running through his veins that made him feel real again. Only this time he knew he would be wiser. As much as he hated to believe it, he had indeed been a little boy back then, just as Ultimecia had once said. Except, she hadn't been the one to make him into a man. He had been a heartless and foolish Knight. Yes. But not a man.

Finally he had the courage to know that this time he was going to act like a man. This time his pride wasn't going to get in his way. He was going to fight for the right reason, and with the right people. No one was going to lead him astray. He was doing this for himself, and no other.

On an evening when the sun shone over the mountains, making his face feel warm against the contrast of the vast snow that surrounded him. He breathlessly picked up his gunblade after a hard days worth of fighting. He had put off joining in the many battles that had formed over the weeks. People had been seriously hurt over the days, the tension rising within Garden as well as the town. No one felt safe anymore. There were constantly people on standby outside the Garden. Keeping watch of anyone that wished to enter the Garden.

Somehow Seifer had found a spot just outside of Trabia where he could be away from all the hassle, and the fighting. He refused to fight yet, still training against the monsters that he found lurking in a nearby forest. Everyday he was asked to help fight, but each time he somehow escaped the Garden and into his little forest of serenity. It was peaceful here. A place he could be by himself. It was where he came to teach himself to be the soldier he once was. Although he had gained back the skills he had all those years ago he wanted to be better than then. He taught himself more, as the wiser man he had become. And as bad as it made him seem to other people, he wasn't going to fight until he was really ready.

He made his way down the long stretch of snow covered land that led back to the Garden. He could already see the beautiful building ahead of him. It wasn't long before he approached the gates, making his way through. Only to stop in his tracks as he heard shouts and saw the crimson stains on the ground. He looked up to see a military car stopped in the road which led straight into Garden. It was surrounded by a crowd of men, all of them tall and muscular, in their arms some held buckets of blood which they threw at the students who had come out to help the battle which had just begun. Other men stood with short swords in their hands. Ready and waiting for their first victim to step forward.

Among the crowd he saw Quistis, her blue eyes were ice cold as she approached the men. A small group of students stood behind her, all with weapons ready to use. Most of them looked nervous and unsure, evidently inexperienced in the ways of war. But this was the world that Trabia Garden now lived in. Countless students lives had to be risked. War was a cruel thing.

"What brings you to Trabia Garden?" Quistis asked, her voice airing confidence. She held her whip out, eyeing all of the men curiously. She was like a cat, ready to pounce on her prey at any given moment.

One of the men stepped forward, he looked down on Quistis. His gaze making it obvious what he thought, just a woman. He misjudged Quistis for her beauty, not knowing strength she possessed during battle. He mistook her for being just another naïve and inexperienced cadet. The truth, however, was far from this.

"There's a new rule in town," he boomed. "No SeeD's allowed in town. We're not going to rest until this murder camp is shut down." He looked at the Garden and the cadets in disgust, spitting on the ground before them. "You may think raising children to kill is right, but you don't see the terror they cause when they fight in the streets. The amount of lives that are cost because of you and your insolent wars."

Quistis looked shocked at his words. "You seem to be forgetting if it wasn't for us, you'd still be under rule of a Sorceress. Hyne, you'd be dead by now if it wasn't put to an end."

The tall man clenched his fists , angered by her words. He lashed out at her, raising his sword high and swooping down towards her stomach. His attacked failed as she dodged his weapon with ease, her skill evidently better than his. She smiled slightly as she saw the shock on his face at her haste.

He looked at his other comrades, who stood eagerly waiting, and nodded to them. One men brought out a hammer, smashing his way through the military car. His attempts failed as a gunshot sounded, and the young man fell to the ground. A bullet through his chest. For a moment there was silence, until five people stepped out of the car. Their weapons raised. A young girl stood confidently with a gun in her hand as she pointed it towards the other men.

From Seifer's place behind all the commotion, he suddenly heard footsteps from behind him. Turning around he raised his weapon as metal clashed against metal and he was suddenly faced with another man. The man smiled upon seeing his face, "Nice to see you're back with your little SeeD friends," the man pointed out.

Angered, Seifer pushed him back. He raised his weapon to attack the man, the battle wasn't long. He pushed the man on the ground, placing a foot firmly on his chest and holding the blade of his gunblade to the mans throat. He didn't actually want to kill the man, not yet anyway, as he realised he had been a man in his room when he had been beaten by Ed and his gang. The man looked up into Seifer's fiery face in fear as he suddenly became hysterical from fear.

He released his weapon from the mans neck. Satisfied that leaving the man living in fear was better than to kill him. For some reason he couldn't seem to kill people like he used to. He used to be fine during battles, not thinking anything of death. Of course it was what came in war, you either killed or were killed yourself. That was the way you survived. However, this was not his fight. They weren't his enemies. He said he'd help Trabia. Not fight their war for them.

He watched as the man ran away in fear. Realising that he was no more than an ordinary man. It seemed ironic how the Peace Makers had now become violent. However, he realised most of them were as inexperienced as the cadets that they sent out to fight. He guessed a lot of them were still the 'Peace Makers' they claimed to be at heart. Perhaps they had been forced to fight or they now had new followers. He guessed it was something that he would never know. Why had the Peace Makers suddenly become so violent?

Stepping back to where all the commotion had been before, Seifer was proud to see Quistis fighting with the man that had looked down on her earlier. He couldn't help but smile as he realised she was kicking his ass. It was only when more men grabbed her from behind and held her down, that Seifer's heart suddenly stopped. Without thinking he ran as fast as he could, dragging both men from her. Somewhere along the way he lost his weapon, he guessed it had fallen from his hand. At one time he would have never dropped his weapon, it made him realise he still wasn't yet prepared to fight. He punched one of the men in the face, hearing a crack as blood oozed from the mans nose and he fell to the ground. Other SeeD's had come to fight off the rest of the men.

Eventually they backed off, dragging the wounded with them. "You're causing harm to the rest of Trabia," one of the men shouted. "We're not only targeting you, we're targeting those who support you. If you really care as much as you claim, you would know what to do."

"And what would that be?" Quistis asked, her manor still as confident as ever. Not even the short battle had phased her.

"We're not stopping until this Garden is shut down. Trabia is our town now." He picked up a stray bucket that had been left behind by one of his other men and threw it at Seifer before he left.

"Who the hell do they think they are?" a familiar voice said.

Upon hearing the voice, Seifer got his first chance to get a look at the people around him. He suddenly noticed the symbol on the military car held the symbol of Balamb Garden. Looking around him, he noticed more familiar faces. The voice that had just spoken belonged to a blonde haired man who he suddenly realised was Zell. Taking in his surroundings he suddenly saw more people he knew.

"Hello again, Seifer" a brown haired woman spoke.

"Long time no see, Xu." Seifer responded looking at the woman. She had changed somewhat over the years. Her hair now longer than he remembered, her eyes looked tired and worn down, but she was still the same asserted Xu that he remembered from so long ago. Looking around he saw another familiar face, a brown haired man. He couldn't quite recall his name, but it was someone he remembered from a SeeD exam long ago.

Amongst all the SeeD cadets, Zell looked slightly uncomfortable. Not sure whether to be happy or angry to see Seifer again. He was part of their past, someone who they grew up with, yet he couldn't forget what had happened in the past. Seifer had betrayed them all, fighting against them until the very end. Of course time meant that feelings weren't the same as four years ago. However, the doubts and fears still lingered in his mind. He had heard of Seifer's return. It had been a rumour going around Garden for sometime. Still, it seemed odd to actually be stood near him. It was as if he were taken back to four years ago, the last time he had saw him. But time had changed, hadn't it? Nothing was the same as it was before. Nothing at all. He shuddered and turned his attention back to the crowd as he realised he thoughts were lingering back to Rinoa. He had grown close to the girl over the years, apart from Squall, Zell had also been the one who had found it hard to deal with as well.

"Welcome to Trabia Garden," Quistis said as an awkward silence came over them. She realised that the awkwardness was probably due to Seifer presence. "Seifer's agreed to help us. He's already helped some students without being asked. So take it easy on him. Alison is waiting inside for you," her voice suddenly became more serious as she resumed back to her role as a leader. "As you have probably just realised, our enemy is unpredictable and more of a risk at every passing day. We need your help to put an end to this. Report to the second floor office and you'll be briefed on your mission."

The SeeD's saluted before the cadets made their way back inside. The few to linger behind momentarily were Xu and Zell, who both seemed unsure of whether to follow on inside or stay a little while longer. Xu was the first to speak up as she gave him a warm smile.

"You look well Seifer, I look forward to fighting alongside you again." she gave another smile, and the part that shocked Seifer was that it seemed like she actually meant what she said. Usually people dreaded being alongside Seifer, unsure of how he would react to their presence.

"I guess it'll be like old times, eh?" he said, sounding more like his old self. "Only this time you can't have the pleasure of failing me on those stupid SeeD exams."

She gave a small laugh, before walking away to catch up with the cadets that had previously gone inside. It was then that Seifer met the eyes of an awkward looking Zell. The spiky blonde rubbed his neck unsure of what to say. It was when he met the eyes of Quistis, that he realised he should say something. He could read the look she was giving him. She had warned him previously that he had to be nice, and that it had been very hard to gain Seifer's trust in Trabia.

"So…" Zell started. "You're really back, huh?"

"I'm not giving you that satisfaction," he responded with his old arrogant tone. "As much as I'd love to catch up with you Chickenwuss, I'm not coming back into your little SeeD world."

Zell clenched his fists in rage. He'd always hated Seifer's nicknames he had given Zell as a child. It was something that would always anger him. Taking a deep breath, he turned away from the man, deciding the only reason he wasn't going to say anything was because he knew Trabia Garden had wanted him to join them. As to why he didn't know. He couldn't see why they just sent Balamb Garden students to help them.

Seifer stood watching the blonde walk away, a strange sensation building inside of him. He wasn't sure what it was. Happiness? Emptiness? He couldn't tell. It felt odd seeing the people that were once in his life on a daily basis when he stayed in Balamb. It was like being back in time, before any of his mistakes ever happened. Like they were all training to be a SeeD again. He guessed he felt… at home. But at the same time there was that emptiness within him. That knowingness inside of him, that no matter what it made him feel. He wasn't training to be a cadet again. He'd made his mistakes, and they could never be erased no matter how hard he tried. If he could've gone back to that day so long ago, to have never gave in to Ultimecia. If he had been a stronger person, maybe none of this would've ever happened.

"You okay?"

The sound of her voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked over to see Quistis stood near him, looking at him intently. He nodded his head slowly, trying to rid his earlier thoughts from his mind. Of course if never went though. There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't think about what his life would be like if he hadn't been so foolish. It would probably be something that would stay with him the rest of his life.

"You look like you want to be alone," Quistis observed. She realised that perhaps there was more to Seifer than he let on. He seemed so lost in his thoughts recently. He was either disappearing off to train someplace she didn't know where, or he just walked around the Garden lost in his thoughts. He didn't talk to many people. When he didn't reply to her answer, she realised she was right. He probably did want to be alone.

"Thank you for helping fight the Peace Makers today," she said slowly. "I always knew you had it in you to be a good student. I only wish I saw this when I taught you."

He watched as she gave a small smile before walking away. Seeing her make her way back into the Garden he couldn't help but feel something he never thought he'd feel again. It felt like there was a barrier separating him from his world and hers. She belonged in a world where she fought for SeeD and lived alongside Cid and all her friends. He felt envious of her. It suddenly occurred to Seifer Almasy that he wanted to be a part of that world. And that was the part that scared him the most.


	15. Chapter Fifteen Crawling In the Dark

The Path Of Time

Chapter Fifteen

_Most of the fights people have are about something simple- you want something the other person has, or maybe they're afraid that you're going to want it, and they go after you first. People always think that if they win, then that's the end; everything will be all right from then on. But everything changes, and tomorrow, the thing you were fighting for will just be a memory. Like everything else, it's already happened._

**Allie Keys (Steven Spielberg's _Taken_)**

The sounds of familiar voices were the first to awaken him from his slumber. He didn't even have to open his eyes, didn't even have to wonder about where he was, he already knew. His first instinct told him he was back home. But he wasn't _home._ Opening his eyes he looked around the small room, much similar to his old dormitory. It was like home, it felt like home. But he knew he wouldn't get the peace of mind he wanted until he went back to Balamb. Back to Garden. His home.

Still, Trabia was just as similar. It brought the same feelings back from so long ago, from that life he left behind him four years ago. Had it really been four years? It felt like a hundred years had gone by, but at the same time it felt like only yesterday. How strange his mind was, to remember things so vaguely but to put so much time between then and now. He was back. That was all that mattered. Back doing what he did best.

He let his eyes close again, letting out a small yawn. He could hear the slow hum of the heating. Of course it was always cold outside, this was Trabia. It was its own hell made from ice, very unlike the fiery metaphors he had been brought up believing. He let his thoughts linger back to the feeling of being back in Garden again; he didn't want to think of hell. That would only lead back to the guilt of what still lingered from four years ago, like a bad taste in his mouth, it never went away either. It was good to be back. It was good to fight again. The thought came to him that maybe… maybe one day he might actually become a SeeD. That was what he had wanted to be all along, hadn't it? That's what he had been fighting for. To be the best. He was just too arrogant and young to obey the rules back then.

A knock at the door took him away from his thoughts. He slowly opened his eyes, taking in as much of the feeling of serenity he could get, before standing from his bed, and making the way to the door. His previous optimism quickly fell away as soon as he met the cold blue eyes of his guest. She didn't even have to say anything, as soon as he saw that sullen look on her face his stomach dropped. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong, he could feel it.

He watched her intently for a moment, almost speechless even though she hadn't uttered a single word. He watched as Quistis nodded her head slowly, reading his facial expression, and his fears became true. He could only wonder what had happened. He was about to ask his thought, but she spoke before he could get the words out.

"Get changed, Seifer. Make sure you equip everything you have with you."

"What's happened?" he finally found the chance to ask.

She gave an impatient shake of her head, the instructor within her taking over like fire. "Just get dressed. I'll brief you on the way down."

He didn't take another moment to ponder any further; he could probably guess what was going to happen. What always happened in the quiet town of Trabia? As he pulled on his clothes, he found himself thinking about the Peace Makers. He already knew it had something to do with them, he just wondered how far they had gone this time. People like them were always unpredictable. Most of them were the kind of people who never went anywhere in life, but always wanted the chance. People like Ed used the passion within them, and turned it into fire. Funny thing passion, it could cause the worlds greatest good, but at the same time the worst things that happened. It is a dangerous thing, passion.

Grabbing his gunblade, he made his way to the door to find Quistis waiting patiently in the hallway. She stood tall and proud, like a professional fighter. She was the sort of person most SeeD dreamed of becoming; even he had secretly admired her demeanour back when he had been a student. He shook his head; he shouldn't get distracted from what was at hand.

Without even taking a glance at him, she began walking with haste through the Garden. The halls had suddenly become very empty and quiet, he noticed. Not quite like his previous thoughts, when he was content and relaxed, thinking that he was finally on the right track.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"We've had reports of three cadets gone missing in the night, all unskilled, they've barely stepped a foot in the training centre."

"Any ideas where they could be?"

"I sent Zell and Irvine to take a look outside and around Trabia earlier this morning. It's the Peace Makers, they're making a demonstration in the town centre today especially for us. It sounds like it's going to be quite a battle, I hope the last few weeks training have served you well."

Seifer nodded his head, "I'm ready for whatever lays ahead."

Quistis stopped in her tracks suddenly, looking at Seifer curiously. "There's civilians involved too Seifer. I hope you understand that this is serious, that people could die today. Let this be your test to prove yourself worthy of following orders. I don't want you pulling any stunts like you did when you were my student. Just follow whatever orders are given, that is all that is asked of you, and that's what's expected. Otherwise you'll never get the respect you want."

"You judge me wrong," Seifer stated, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Do I?" she looked at him through narrow eyes. "Are you for real this time, Seifer? You've always had it in you to be this person, it just seems too good to be true that you'd show up out of nowhere and help us."

"I didn't agree to help without a fight. Irvine dragged me up here, remember?" he smirked at Quistis. Looking at her made him realise something, that people weren't as genuine as they seemed. He knew people welcoming here with open arms was too good to be true. Quistis was merely voicing everyone's fears. That he couldn't follow orders, that he was still the same old Seifer who failed in becoming a SeeD. His face turned serious as he took a step closer to her. "It's understandable you'd think that. But four years have passed, none of us are the same people we were back then, you know?"

Letting out a sigh, she nodded her head. Everyone had changed since the Sorceress war. The world was a different place; it had grown and changed, along with the people in it. She looked at him once more. "Your right, but if you screw this up…"

"I know," he said slowly. "I'm out of here face first in the snow, right?"

The blonde let out a laugh, "It'll be more than your face in the snow."

Seifer smiled, before stepping behind Quistis. "You going to lead the way then, Instructor Trepe?"

* * *

The sounds of heels hitting against the hard floor echoed throughout the corridor. She let a small sigh escape as she made her way to the door at the end of the corridor. It had been a few days since her last visit here, but since she had heard the message left on her phone, she knew what was to come. She had already accepted that this would probably be her last trip here, which made her a little sad, but she knew all good things must come to an end. People could only get her so far, before she needed to move on to something bigger. Pushing a stray bang of red hair behind her ear, she couldn't help feeling cold hearted, even though she knew when she had first arrived here she had been naïve and vulnerable.

Giving a quick knock at the door, she didn't bother waiting for someone to answer. Opening the door she made her way through the room and sat in front of the big mahogany desk, it was then she looked up at his face. Just as she expected, he looked ticked off. Behind him stood the General, looking slightly uneasy and avoiding all eye contact with her.

"President Deling," she smiled. "How nice to see you again."

She jumped in her chair as his hand slammed a newspaper in front of her. "Can you tell me what this is, Eve?"

"It's a newspaper..." she said, eyeing the paper curiously.

"I know what the damn thing is," he spat out in anger. "Look at the front page. I'll make it easy for you shall I? Let me read out some to you. _'Eve Wilson, a self acclaimed Sorceress came to one of our reporters telling of how she had been to see the murdering Sorceress Rinoa. She states that she believes Sorceresses go corrupt because of the militant pressures forcing people such as Eve to hide who they are. Eve told our reporter that she will make it known she doesn't want people to hate Sorceress Rinoa, or any other past Sorceress and accept them as a way of society. Eve blames societies, such as the Galbadian Army for attempting to use their powers for their own means and using them as scapegoats when things go wrong.' _Explain that to me then, Eve?"

"Oh… that" she averted her eyes to the ground, unsure of how to respond to him. "I didn't realise it would hurt you so if I saw her."

"It hasn't hurt me Eve, it's really pissed me off," he slammed his fist down on the table. "Dammit Eve, you've made me out to be a fool after all I've done for you. I could've taken Caraway's advice and got security to turf you out of here in an instant when you first showed up. I gave you the publicity you needed and listened to you. This is how you repay me, is it?"

"Oh so you really did it out of the goodness of your heart for little old me, did you?" she looked at him, leaning closer. "You needed me, just as much as I needed you; to get publicity. You wanted to show that you're nothing like your father. That you're a good and caring President, but you're just as self-centred and obsessed with power as your father was. You'll always be a shadow in his step, and you know it. This was merely a business arrangement. We both got what we wanted out of it, and now its time to move on."

The President took a deep breath and leaned back, turning to the General that stood silently behind him. "Leave Caraway," he said sharply. The General didn't argue, Deling watched as he briskly made his way out of the door.

"I can't believe you've done this to me," he muttered through clenched teeth. Standing from his chair he made his way towards Eve. "You betraying bitch!" he shouted as his arm reeled back to collide with her face.

The slap sent a stinging across her cheek and she could feel it reddening already. Tears welled up in her eyes as he grabbed hold of her, shaking her and demanding an explanation. Why had she done this? How could she betray him? Bitch. It was all coming out in one long trail, his grip on her arms becoming tighter, until she felt his nails digging into her skin.

"Get off me," she screamed as a surge of energy released from within her. She saw him get thrown back against the wall from her power. He sat on the floor from where her had been thrown and looked at her in shock, as if he was seeing her for the first time. And suddenly it came to her as the fear shone in his eyes. "You never believed I was a Sorceress…"

Getting up to his feet, he looked at her pondering for a moment. Had he not believed her? He wasn't sure. "I guess I just never saw you as a Sorceress. You were always so charming and… innocent," he took a few steps forward, the pain from her magic testing his limbs. "Be assured Eve, my view of you has changed completely."

Eve gave a small smile. "I'm not the bad guy here Deling. You don't understand what its like being what I am, and living with people like you. All I needed was someone powerful on my side for a while so I could change the way people think, or at least give them a chance to listen to my story. I don't need you anymore, people actually know who I am and come to me. You were used, just as you used me. Deal with it."

The tears finally made their way down her cheeks as she placed a hand against her burning cheek. She heard the Presidents footsteps come closer until he leaned down and looked her in the face. He now looked a lot calmer, the anger from earlier now gone.

"Tell me one thing, did anyone go with you to see Rinoa?"

She thought back to that day, of course General Caraway had been with her. He was the only reason she had been able to see her, and for that she owed him a lot. She knew that General Caraway never really approved of her being close to the President, but the irony was, he was the only one who had been honest. He was the only Galbadian soldier she respected. "No one was with me. I went alone."

He nodded his head silently. "That's all I wanted to know, thank you," he looked at her a moment longer. "Now get out of here. I never want to see you again."

He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before returning back to his desk. She walked slowly to the door, not quite sure how she felt. Happy? Sad? Maybe it was a mixture of both, she couldn't tell. Reaching the door, she grabbed the handle and opened the doorway before stopping and looking back behind her to the President. "Goodbye Richard."

The President watched her linger in the doorway, her beautiful emerald eyes watching him for the last time. "Goodbye Eve. Good luck in doing what you want to achieve."

She smiled sweetly, that same smile he had always loved to see. "Good luck to you too."

He could only watch as she left the room.

* * *

The walk through to the town seemed endless; a growing tension surrounded all of the SeeD's and cadets that had joined the mission. In front stood Xu and Quistis, leading and giving out orders to the cadets. Selphie couldn't help feeling apprehensive about what was to happen ahead. Trabia Garden was only small, and she knew majority of the young cadets who had been taken. It saddened her to think that the Peace Makers had taken them.

She felt an arm wrap around her, and smiled when she looked up at Irvine. It was hard to do such actions in these circumstances, but it was all she could do to try and make the day feel normal. She hated seriousness, and she especially hated these situations.

"You okay?" Irvine asked quietly.

She nodded, "Yeah, I guess I'm just nervous about what is going to happen next. It's the not knowing that I don't like."

"Don't worry Selph," Zell said from the other side of her, "I'll made sure we kick some serious Peace Maker ass today. No one's gonna try and hurt some innocent kids. I'll make sure to that."

"I hope so," Selphie said with a sigh.

Ahead of her Seifer walked behind Quistis. He still hadn't been briefed yet on what he needed to do, he guessed that meant he was being given the boring jobs, which annoyed him. _Just follow the orders whatever, _he told himself. He was determined not to mess up this time. This was his redemption, to prove to himself and everyone else that he could do this.

Quistis walked towards him, her face looked stressed and worried already. "Our main objective is not to fight with these people. We're not going to provoke any more friction between the Peace Makers and ourselves, so you need to make sure you use your defence before attack. _Only _attack if everything gets out of hand. We're here to get our cadets back safely, and protect the lives of those who are in danger. Make sure you have plenty of protect spells handy; you'll be up front and using them on everyone that needs it. Don't worry about protecting yourself; the less experienced cadets are going to be behind you, protecting you when needed. If you need any more spells speak to Xu now. Understand?"

Seifer nodded his head, "I have all the spells I need."

"Right," she returned to her place beside Xu turning around once more to Seifer. "Remember, no stunts, just follow the orders you've been given. I don't want any lives put at stake because of some bright idea."

"Got ya," he said, mimicking the SeeD salute.

The group off SeeD's came to a halt as they reached the town centre. In front of them was a line of six people, three of them evidently young cadets, the other three civilians of the town. All were in the centre of a large crowd of people, all wearing a distinctive black band on their arm. It was the Peace Makers, and there were more than Seifer had ever seen before. In the centre of them, he saw their leader, Ed, smiling and prancing around like a child in a sweet shop. He looked sickeningly excited about what was going on as the SeeD's came to a halt before him.

"Welcome fellow SeeD's!" he said with his arms out wide. "I'm glad you could make it for the show."

"You must be Ed Wilson," Quistis said as she stepped forward. "We mean no harm today, only to take back our students. They have done nothing wrong to you, they don't even know how to fight."

Ed laughed, like a man who had lost his sanity a long time ago. "Maybe it's best that they don't know how to fight, at least they can get out while they can. I'd hate them to grow into murderers such as the likes of you."

"We don't intend to hurt people, that is not what SeeD is about. We wish no terror on people."

"But you're happy to kill a Sorceress in cold blood?" the crowd of his men roared in agreement.

Quistis felt her patience wearing at the naivety of these people. "If it means protecting the world from danger and destruction, I think anyone would. Now let our cadets go free. No one means you any harm here."

"That is a possibility of today," Ed said, taking a step closer to Quistis. "But that all depends on if you're going to be a good girl and make an agreement with me my sweet."

"What agreement is that?" Her words were cold, as she prepared herself for the worst. It was always easier that way; any solider of war knew this.

"Let me show you myself," Ed nodded his head and six men out of the crowd forced their victims forwards. "Here we have three of your own cadets, and three of your greatest followers. I hope you care about these civilians, because they've stood up for you. As long as you follow our demands, then none of these people will be killed. You'll have six chances."

"And what demands are they?" Xu asked, stepping forward.

Ed smiled wildly, watching as the two leaders stared at him. "Give up the Garden. There is no need for you SeeD's to be here. You don't belong."

"You want us to evacuate our Garden for you?" Xu stared as Quistis in disbelief. "Are these guys for real?"

"We'll never do that for you," Quistis responded.

The crack was a sudden and unexpected sound. It wasn't until the body fell to the ground and she saw Ed's hand outstretched with a gun pointed at the young cadet that she realised what had happened. Blood poured in a pool around the young boys body.

"Now his blood is on your hands," Ed's face twisted into a smile. "Five chances left."

A young SeeD raced forward distressed and upset, Seifer caught him before he could run forward and do anything stupid. "Do you want to get yourself killed?" He said, shoving the boy back harshly, trying to get him to come to his senses.

"That was my little brother," the SeeD said in distress. "The son of a bitch just shot him."

"I'm sorry kid," Seifer said. He turned to a younger cadet nearby. "Take him away from here, he's not fit to be here at the moment." He watched the young boy look uncomfortable and disorientated, probably from the shock of what had happened. "Just do it now!"

"Tick-tock-tick-tock," Ed chimed on, watching the crowd in front of him.

"I don't know what to do," Quistis whispered to Xu in desperation. The guilt of the boy spread through her, she wanted to run away from here so badly. How was she supposed to know what to do? She wasn't prepared for this sort of thing.

"We need Alison," Xu responded, she turned around to one of the messengers near her. "Send for Alison to come up here as soon as possible. And do it now!" she shouted.

"There's no point trying to fight, otherwise they'll all get shot," Ed responded. "Come on, time is running out!" He swung the gun in his hand slowly, getting a good grip on the gun, itching to shoot it again.

"We can't make these sort of decisions," Xu responded. "Can't we come to some sort of compromise? How about we-"

"No compromises, and time doesn't stop for anyone!"

Another gunshot was fired, there was a female scream and for a moment there was silence. A civilian woman stood shaking and crying as a bullet lingered in the air in front of her head. From the crowd of SeeD's Zell stood with his arms stretched, controlling the protect spell he had cast to stop the bullet. There was a clang as it fell to the ground, and a furious looking Ed faced him.

"That is _not _how this was supposed to happen!"

"Too bad, buddy," Zell said punching the air. "It happened alright."

"Cocky little shit," Ed growled. "This time you have ten seconds, and my people aren't holding back."

"Get your spells ready," Quistis commanded to the people behind her. "Keep an eye on everyone, there are at least ten people I have seen with guns, we don't yet know how many have them. Just make sure you keep your eye on everyone. Look out for the people beside you. We have to work together as a team."

Ed laughed as the SeeD's in front of him stood ready for action. There minds are the ready to block out any attacks he was to send at the people he held captive. This was all perfect; it was all so damn perfect right now. He couldn't help the wild smile that formed on his lips. "All your magic isn't going to protect them," he beamed at them. "We all have weapons here to join in the fun. You can't stop _everyone._"

Pushing a bang of hair behind her ear, Xu looked at Ed with a newfound courage. She'd endured lots of battles in her life, most of them a lot more gruelling than this, but this was completely different from what she was used to. These weren't even professional fighters as far as she could tell; it was a lot more unpredictable than war could ever be. War was always planned carefully, and each soldier followed a particular order, dealing with people like the Peace Makers was no war. No one knew what was going to happen next. Would they stick to their word and set the people free if they abandoned Garden? Or would they kill them anyway out of spite? The latter had as equal a chance of being true than the former.

"Your probably right," Xu said honestly. "But at least we can try and know we've done everything within out power to protect these people. We're not the monsters here."

"Oh believe me," Ed said chuckling to himself, as if this whole situation were one big joke to him. "The monsters haven't even started to come out yet."

The SeeD's watched as Ed pointed his gun to the line of cadets and followers once more. A few screams came from the captive people, as they looked on in fear at what could soon be their death. The man looking straight at them from the barrel of his gun, with a firm smile on his lips only stared as if they were animals, and he the hunter. He turned to the SeeD's once more. "Lets see how well you can do."

This time they were ready for what was to come. The three blasts that came from the gun not as piercing and harsh as it had been the previous time. The fires were still terrifying, as the bullets shot out to make its way to a designated victim. Screams echoed through the air, as the bullets shot forward, only to be stopped in their tracks almost instantly as a string of protect spells were cast along their paths. Seifer smirked in amusement as his own spell had stopped the final bullet only a few inches away from the barrel of the gun. It glided slowly through the air for a brief moment before falling to the ground, a few yards away from Ed's feet with a clang. He watched it lay on the ground in front of him, as anger built up inside of him.

"No more games now," he shouted. "No one's going to hold back anymore, not until we get what we agreed on."

Selphie watched anxiously as Ed nodded towards the Peace Makers. The next moments became a long blur, almost in slow motion as the scenery unfolded before her. The crowd of Peace Makers all brought out a weapon, most of them guns, the older or less experienced ones held rocks in their hands. They were going to be stoned as well? It brought sadness over her, it was like watching a medieval punishment, and she knew that these people weren't the ones that needed to be punished. The sounds around her became a world full of explosions. She watched almost helplessly as hundreds of bullets were blasted out of their guns.

_I can do this, _she thought to herself. Bracing herself, she locked her eyes onto one of the Peace Makers. He was a young looking man, certainly one to know how to aim and shoot a gun. She watched him point the gun, bracing the spell within her mind and concentrating on his weapon. Another blast was sounded as his bullet blew into the air. She released the spell, and watched with relief as the bullet stopped in its tracks only to fall on the ground where, to her relief, there was quite a pile building of blocked bullets. Her brief happiness soon stolen from her as a shriek filled the air over the blasts and she saw the woman fall to the ground, her hand clutching at her side, which was quickly staining her clothes with red.

Eventually rocks began to make their way through the group of SeeD's. Just as she blocked another of the bullets she heard a gun shot from next to her, before small particles of rock crumbled harmlessly to the ground. Irvine was stood beside her, gun aimed at the rocks now being aimed at them. He looked only briefly to Selphie, "Keep going Selph, I can handle this."

"Nida, help Irvine," Zell shouted from behind them. He saw another cadet with a gun by his side. "You, help the rock situation out too. I don't care how many times you miss, just try and stop them."

"Sir," the young cadet said as he began shooting at the overcoming rocks.

There was another scream as another cadet fell to the ground. Three people remained living, Zell observed. They all look horrified as the bullets kept aiming in their direction. No matter how many were blocked, they still kept coming. This was like torture to them; each blocked bullet was just prolonging their life a little more. It would only be a matter of time before they were all hit. That was the sad reality, Zell realised.

"This would work so much better if we could knock them down one by one," Seifer growled in annoyance. This was unfair on the captives, they were terrified, even Seifer hated to see the look on their faces.

"No Seifer," she stopped to turn to him, a stern look on her face, yet desperation in her words. "You know the rules Seifer, don't you dare even think about it."

She watched as Seifer opened his mouth to speak, her mixed feelings at such a time had made her feel anger towards Seifer. Why couldn't he just obey-

"Watch out!"

She didn't have time to register why his sudden outburst had happened, only felt his arms drag her to the ground. She heard a sickening crack and felt his grip loosen as he fell to the ground.

"Seifer?" she looked down to see a deep wound on his head, as he groggily looked up at her, his face pale.

"Watch what your doing, Quistis," he said suddenly. "Get up and save the people, I'll be up in a minute."

"But Seif-"

"I said get up," his voice was stern. "I'll be fine."

Her gaze lingered on him a little longer before she got up and resumed into the battle of protecting the captives. Eventually Seifer did get up to stand beside her once more. He didn't say other word, only resumed casting his spells. Following his orders correctly, and this was certainly something the old Seifer would not have done.

The battle went on, eventually another civilian died from the never-ending bullets. This war seemed endless, and there was certainly no way they were going to win. Hyne, where was Alison? It felt like she had sent for her aeons ago. Something inside of her snapped as she found herself screaming for them to stop. This was all horribly wrong. It certainly wasn't something worth fighting over, and it wouldn't be resumed at the end of the day.

"Stop this," she yelled once more. "We surrender the Garden."

It was then, that after what had felt like hours of gunshots, that there was finally silence. A silence so sickening and welcoming at the same time, it made her feel ill. She wondered if she had made the right decision. If people would be angry at her for giving up the Garden so easily, but it was all she could do. She looked up at Ed who stood patiently watching her.

Quistis felt a hand on her shoulder, and give it a reassuring squeeze. "You heard the girl," said Alison's voice. And to Quistis at that particular moment, her voice was like a saint. "This is growing tiresome now Ed, you've got your wish, but be assured it will only be gone until Trabia Garden can be restored again. Don't think you've got away with this, I assure you, we will come back with a bigger and stronger force. Now let those people go and we'll retreat away from here."

Ed only remained silent, giving the woman a small bow before gesturing to his people to let the two remaining people go. It was a young cadet and a civilian who walked free from the torture. The both of them looked disorientated and lifeless as they made their way to safety. Alison only looked back to Ed once, "I hope you get to what you want to achieve in life Ed," she said emotionlessly. "I hope this was all worth it."

The SeeD's watched as she turned to them with a sad smile on her face. "You have all done as good as anyone could in this situation. Lets get back to Garden and gather our things before the day ends. Take the time to rest now, we shall retreat to Balamb Garden temporarily until we can get our Garden sorted."

The walk back to Trabia Garden seemed long and silent. No one wanted to speak of the day's events. Battles remain in the battlefield; the remorse was to be dealt with once they got home. Selphie watched quietly as the sun set in the sky marking the end of the troublesome day. She felt like she had failed her Garden. For tomorrow her journey in this cold land would end.

* * *

Evening had fallen to a close long ago, he guessed. Time never changed it this place, especially in this room. In this life he had suddenly fallen into. His routine had been the same for... How long had it been? Three or four weeks he guessed. How time has flown yet crawled along in those weeks. He always woke up in the same hotel room after a night of tossing and turning in bed most of the night before falling into a light and uncomfortable sleep. He struggled to find a peace of mind these days, whereas once he had truely been happy. Now all that crossed his mind were the same questions. Why was she like this? When had their lives changed so dramatically? Had he somehow made her this way?

Even deeper into the night, his more selfish thoughts came to the surface. How long was he going to sit and wait here for her? She probably wasn't going to change. Was he just supposed to stay here in Esthar, making his way down to the laboratory in the early hours of the morning and staying until late at night where he would return back to the same hotel. He hated the fact that he felt this way deep inside, but his patience was wearing thin, and he wasn't sure after all that she had done he wanted to stand by her and pretend that everything was okay. He had spent the last weeks hoping that she would wake up and remain normal, that this was just some powerful Sorceress from another time making her this way. But it wasn't. He knew that in the dead of night when the moon was bright and the hour was late.

He looked down at her face, even after all of this she still looked beautiful. After all his thoughts from countless nights, he couldn't admit it was really her who had done all this wrong when he looked at her. Letting out a sigh, he placed his head in his hands fighting the headache that had been thumping through his head all day. He had promised himself that he wouldn't leave her again, not after seeing her open up to Eve. That night she had held his hand, she had seemed more alive than ever even though she was still mute. The days that had followed he found that she went through stages of being silent and huddled against the wall, especially when she had just woken or was just about to fall asleep, as if in her dreams was when she was tortured the most. She was tortured when she was asleep, he knew that. He had heard her cry out, seen her look lost and confused, but most of all, she looked terrified whenever she woke up. However, when she was awake she seemed better than before. Sometimes the doctors would come in and speak to Squall while she was on the bed, and she suddenly get up and pace around the room before making her way back to the bed again.

He watched her now as she sat crossed legged on the bed, her hands on her knees as if she was in some sort of meditation pose. He knew that soon she would get scared, when the triedness overcame her was when she reacted the worst, but for now she looked normal. He could almost forget what had happened and fool himself into beleiving she was the same Rinoa who had irritated him so much back when she was a young woman fighting for the independance of Timber. How he sometimes wished to go back to them days.

"Remember back when we were seventeen?" he said more to himself than anything. A lot of the memories from that time he had away, he didn't like the person he was back then. Hyne, he didn't like the war he was fighting back then. "You used to irritate me so bad, the way you just did things without the fear of consequences or what people would think of you. I hated that, because I knew that it was everything I couldn't be. It was everything that no one could be who decided to become SeeD. You were passionate and did things with feeling, for SeeD they always taught us to be impersonal, to not let our feelings overcome us no matter how hard it is."

He smiled at himself suddenly feeling stupid for bringing all of this up. He wasn't sure if she would be listening, but part of him didn't care. Right now he needed, if only for himself to remember her as she was. The reasons why he fell in love with her. The reasons he had been drawn to someone such as her in the first place instead of any other work driven SeeD he could have met somewhere down the line. He sighed, pushing a few stray bangs from his eyes. "When you were lost in space it scared me. I didn't realise how much I wanted to see you be so carefree.. so unlike SeeD's. I _needed _it to make me realise what I'd done to myself. I pushed everything personal away and was only left with work. And when you went missing for six months, that's what I regressed back to. I guess one of the reasons I still haven't left your side is because I'm still needing to see that part of you that you had when you were seventeen. I don't know Rinoa, I need you. I need you for my own sanity, no matter what you've done. I know it's selfish, but I just thought I'd tell you what's going on in my head, because I have no idea what's going through yours."

"I guess I just need to know that you need me," he said almost in a whisper. "I want to know that I haven't been sitting here in vain if you really have gone corrupt like so many people have tried telling me."

Squall looked up, and was shocked to see that her head was turned to him intently. Her eyes locked into his as a small tear ran down her face. "I just want to know what's happening," he said almost inaudibly, as if just a raise of his voice would ruin the moment and make her regress back into herself. He watched her as she turned to sit in front of him, all the time looking into his eyes, which was something he hadn't seen her do in so long. She hadn't looked at anyone since he had found her.

"Rinoa, I-"

His words were cut short as he felt her arms wrap tightly around him. Like a scared child to their parent, she clung to him, her head resting on his shoulder so that her warm breath tickled against his neck.

"I'm scared Squall," she whispered through tears. "I'm really, really scared."

Wrapping his arms around her, he couldn't help noticing she felt slimmer than he remembered her to be. She often refused any food that was given to her by the doctors that worked here. Of course she was slimmer, she had starved herself mostly.

He reached a hand up to stroke the hair out of her face. He took in every ounce of the moment that he could. Savouring the feel of her against him, thanking whatever God had given him another chance to feel this with her. It had been so long. It had been so, so long since he had felt this.

"I'm going to be here beside you," he soothed, "I'm not going to leave your side ever. We'll get through this, I promise."

Rinoa shook her head as tears ran down her face, he felt the wetness on his neck from the warmth of her tears. "I don't know if we are though," she said suddenly pulling away from him and looking at him once more. "Something bad is going to happen, you've got to leave."

"I'm not leaving," Squall said firmly, taking hold of her hands. "I'm staying here with you."

"No," Rinoa said, now more frantic. "You have to leave. I don't want to hurt you Squall. I don't want to hurt anyone else. You have to go and warn them all that something bad is going to happen."

"What are you talking about Rinoa? I don't understand."

It was then that he noticed her eyes starting to change colour. Her once chocolate eyes now glowed golden yellow as tears still fell down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Squall," she whispered, before he felt himself thrown back against something hard.

A sharp pain ran through his back as he fell against the far wall. He looked up helpless to see Rinoa stand from the bed and point her hands to the door that had kept her locked in for so long. It was ripped from its hinges like paper. As she walked out the room Squall only watched helpless as he heard that screams of the scientists and doctors that were present in the building. He heard gunshots and explosions, but he felt helpless. He couldn't do anything to stop her, no one could.

She had gone. Perhaps she had been planning this for a long time, fooling people that she was under control, and lying in wait until the time came when she wanted to escape. Or perhaps she went on a whim, not sure if she was strong enough. Either way, she was gone. She was out in the world where she was a danger. Where she was free to kill people, or possibly the Galbadian army would catch up with her and kill her first. Neither fate he wanted to face.

_What have you done, Rinoa? _

Authors note: As much as I write for myself more than want millions of people to read my work, when I get no reviews at all for my chapters I can't help thinking: Is anyone out there??? I get over 100 hits for each chapter, yet no one will leave me any feed back. Any areas that I could improve on would be greatly appreciated. But yes, the fifteenth chapter is up. I hope it had enough action in it for you… whoever reads this.


	16. Chapter Sixteen The Reunion

The Path of Time

Chapter Sixteen

People come home for lots of reasons. They come home to remember, they come home because they've got no place else to go, they come home when they're beaten, they come home when they're proud. They come looking for a door into their past, or a road out into their future. They come home for a lot of reasons. But they always come home to say goodbye.

Allie Keys (Steven Spielberg's _Taken_)

The group made their slow trek to the inviting lights of the blue Garden up ahead. After being surrounded by the icy mountains of Trabia for so long, it seemed like a blessing to be back in a much warmer climate. Most of the students of Trabia Garden had been sent home for the meantime since the close of the Garden. Although the saddest part of the world of SeeD was that the majority of them were orphans taken in by the Gardens in order to start a new life, meaning that since the close of the Garden, most of the students had been left stranded with nowhere to go. The group of students and instructors had kindly been taken in by other Gardens; luckily enough for Alison, Cid was a kind man and had welcomed them all with open arms, allowing both Gardens to stay in Balamb for as long as this all went on for.

Among the group of students, walked Seifer who had simply been told that he could not stay in Trabia anymore for his own safety. He doubted that many people would welcome his arrival back at his original Garden, but the thought of being back in Balamb, the one town he had loved, made him feel glad to be coming back. He took in a deep breath of the Balamb air that surrounded him, taking in the old familiar smells of the sea. He watched the young children lively run through the cobbled streets, and the older generation who spent many lazy days outside in this slow town scorn at the young children's energy. The people still lived their slow lives. The boats still swayed to the rhythm of the sea as they sat in the docks. The thing he had always loved about Balamb was that nothing here ever changed. It had been four years, and everything was still exactly the same.

As they made their way to the Garden, he saw among the few SeeD's and instructors that were awaiting their arrival at the gates, stood Cid. The Headmaster had not changed either, over the last four years he had greyed slightly more, but he was the same old Cid. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, a warm smile on his face as he watched the Trabian students approach.

"Greetings Trabia Garden," he said, his voice jolly and comforting. "I'm sorry for the loss of your Garden. I hope that Balamb can be a temporary home to you until we can get all of this mess sorted. Please, follow the students at the front inside Garden, and we will allocate you to your new dorm rooms. It will be a tight squeeze with both Balamb and Trabian students together, but I'm sure we can all improvise for a little while."

An Instructor came forward giving orders and splitting the students into groups to be taken to their dorms and given a tour of the Garden. Selphie watched, feeling slightly more positive since getting back to Balamb. Cid stepped forward to the group with a sympathetic look on his face as he looked at Selphie. "Hey Cid," she said with her normal cheery enthusiasm. To anyone else it would seem like she had gotten over Trabia already, but anyone who knew her well enough realised that this was just Selphie trying to keep everything the same. She hated people being down, always the optimist, she tried to stay positive whatever the situation.

"Hello again Selphie," Cid spoke as he approached her. "I'm sorry to hear about Trabia, I know your Garden meant a lot to you. Are you sure your alright?"

The brunette looked to the floor, and let out a small sigh. "I was pretty bummed about it for a while, but I guess we tried our hardest and that's all that matters. We didn't't go down without a fight. But next time we bump into them Peace Makers, I'm gonna make sure they're not going to get away without a fight, for Trabia's sake!"

The headmaster laughed at her cheery attitude. "Be assured we're keeping an eye on the Peace Makers, when the chance comes Trabia will get its chance to rise."

"You betcha!" Selphie squealed excitedly. "And anyway, the trip wasn't all that bad. We found Seifer again. The original groups all back together again."

Cid gave a small laugh, "That reminds me," his face turned more serious as he turned his attention to Seifer. "Come to my office later if you can Seifer. I understand if you don't want to hear an explanation from me after all this time, and that's fine. But I'd be pleased if you can at least hear me out."

Seifer felt his entire body stiffen as the words left Cid's mouth, after all this time _now _he wanted to talk? "I don't know about that. Last time you wanted to talk, I was cast out of Balamb for four years," he looked Cid straight in the eye, not backing down this time. "I think I'm done with going to see you for your little _talks, _headmaster."

An awkward silence made its way through the group as they saw the conversation unfold before them. None of them had known what Cid had done until they had found Seifer again. It had been said that he had left Balamb to start a new life, but to have Cid lie to everyone and keep this to himself; they couldn't help but sympathise at least a little with Seifer. Even if he had done wrong, why the big secret?

"We have to go and do something," Quistis spoke up, gesturing for the others to follow her away from this conversation that didn't involve any of them. "We'll speak later," she said as the group made their way inside Garden.

It was once the group had gone that Cid let out a long sigh as he looked at Seifer sorrowfully. He had heard of his bravery in Trabia, that he had helped them all and even saved two young cadets. He could have made a great SeeD. "A lot of mistakes happened that year," he finally spoke up. "I'm sure you of all people will appreciate when I say that. You know where my office is, come if you wish to hear what I have to say. I'm not forcing you, I know that I can't change anything that happened but I wish I could. Sleep on it if you must."

Seifer watched as Cid walked away, anger growing inside of him. Cid had no idea how it felt to be cast out of his home out into a world where people knew his face. They knew what he had done. He'd rather fight any kind of brutal battle than ever have to face the look on those innocent faces. The look in their faces still haunted him. Cid didn't realise Balamb was lucky enough not to be affected by the war. Here people were sheltered away from most of the terror. He had seen the damage caused to cities, seen the homeless child calling out hopelessly for their parents that had died during the war. It still terrified him to realise that he had helped to cause that destruction. He had been one to kill innocent lives.

He shook the thoughts away, one day he wanted Cid to realise what went on when he left Balamb. He wanted Cid to feel the anguish at knowing that you've gone down the wrong path in life and don't know how the hell you can make it up to everyone for all the bad you've done. How could he repay the people whose lives he had cost, the bad he had helped to cause? How could he relieve his conscience of that guilt? One day he would tell Cid this, but not anytime soon.

The blonde made his way back into Garden, into his old home that he had spent so many years of his life being an ass to everyone. It made him smile now at the thoughts of what he used to do just to get people to see who he was. So people would look up to him or fear him. Back then he didn't care which it was, just as long as people noticed. He couldn't help getting that same attitude back as he watched the group of SeeD's standing at the entrance of Balamb. They were talking and laughing, doing what anyone does in these kind of situations. Just put everything bad behind them and use the time off they have together to forget everything terrible that's happened.

"Yo Seifer," Zell shouted as Seifer tried to make his way quietly past the group. "Just thought I'd say thanks for helping us out back in Trabia. You did good. I think I'm gonna tell the kids about this battle in my next class. Might give them a little inspiration."

Seifer looked at the spiky blonde quizzically for a moment, "You teach?"

Zell smiled, punching his fists into the air. It had been a long time since Seifer had seen Zell do that, but it still irritated him immensely. "I got my Instructor licence two years ago. You should be proud to get a compliment from the best teacher in this place."

"Right," Seifer said, lacking Zell's enthusiasm. "They actually trust you not to screw these kids up? Balamb has really gone downhill."

"Hey! Don't think you're the only one that's changed over the years," Zell took a step closer to Seifer. "The Sorceress War taught me a lot, maybe if you'd stuck with us long enough you would've learnt something too."

"Zell!" Selphie said pulling Zell away before the situation got any worse. "Don't get angry Seifer, he's just being a jerk. He doesn't like it when people don't take him seriously about his teaching. No biggy right?"

Seifer looked at the four curiously. Funny, he always pictured they'd stay the same amateur SeeD's they had been back when he had seen them before. He never guessed that they would progress to things such as an Instructor. It shocked him to see them making something of their time at Balamb. And what had Seifer done? Odd jobs to make money, moving from town to town. He hadn't the energy for this, he was fed up of feeling sorry for himself. "No biggy," he agreed, imitating Selphie's choice of vocabulary.

The group stopped their conversation when they heard the sounds of footsteps of someone who had walked through the entrance of the Garden. They were shocked to find the person was someone they had not seen in a long time. He stood before them, his hair carelessly hanging down on his face. His eyes looked as though he had not slept in months, on the side of his face was a poppy bruise beginning to form.

"Squall," Selphie was the first to speak up.

Squall stepped further into Garden, his legs felt like jelly as his exhaustion from the past weeks finally crept into his system. "I need to find Cid," he spoke quietly.

"I though you were with Rinoa, what's happened?" Irvine asked.

He looked at the faces around him, it all felt like some sort of dream. Nothing seemed real anymore. If he just closed his eyes and got some rest maybe everything would seem better. But rest wouldn't come for a long time, he knew that. His attention pricked up as he saw another face. "What's he doing here?" he asked, looking at Seifer curiously. Had something happened while he was away? Was Seifer behind all that was happening?

"Is that the welcome I get after four years?" Seifer responded. "It's a reunion, you should be happy to see me. It'll be like the good old times."

Seifer's sarcasm was washed within the confusion and worry that had spread through the air like a disease. It was a worry of something far worse than the Peace Makers could ever stir. The last person to make the reunion complete was not here.

"What's happened to her?" Selphie asked. She didn't even need to say her name, they all knew who she was talking about.

"She escaped." It was all the words he needed to say to send a chill of fear down everyone's spine. Suddenly the Garden didn't seem such a happy place anymore.

* * *

The clouds overhead gathered together in a sky of dirt. Raindrops fell down to the ground making their mark on the gravel under her feet as she made her way down the empty street. Cars rushed passed her through the damp ground, sending a spray of water into the air. She let the rain fall down on her, not feeling the need to protect herself from the rain. She liked the feeling of the drops falling down her face, it felt refreshing. It almost felt cleansing. 

Walking down the streets with her grocery bags in hand, she let a small sigh escape her lips as she heard the sounds of an engine coming to a stop beside her. The black vehicle pulled up to a slow crawl the same pace as her walking, and in the corner of her eye she saw the passenger window open.

"I'm not coming back to you," she said simply. She didn't even have to look at his face, she already knew who it was.

"How did you know it was me?" The voice sounded surprised as he ordered the driver to stop the car when she finally gave up on her feeble attempt at escaping a confrontation with him.

"You've just about filled my answering machine with messages, and when my phones stopped constantly ringing you fill my mail box with emails. Oh and then there's the times when you turn up on my apartment doorstep. So, now a strange car has pulled up beside me on my way back from buying a few groceries, I think I must have had a wild stab in the dark to guess it was you." For the first time, she turned her head to face the man who had been persistent for so long. "It's only been two days, I thought you realised that this wasn't going to work, Richard. I used you, remember? You got pissed and we said goodbye because we knew it was for the best."

"Please Eve," the President said, almost pleading in his voice. "Just step into my car, I only want to talk to you. Something has happened."

Eve rolled her eyes at his words. "I don't care about your affairs anymore" she said as she began walking away again.

"I think you will when you hear this," he said from behind her.

"Not falling for it," she called over her shoulder. "Goodbye President Deling."

"Wait," he said, quickly getting out of the car and stepping onto the path near Eve. His eyes were wide as if they held the worlds worst secrets. He looked like a scared child trying his hardest to prove to people that he wasn't the person they thought him to be. He wasn't weak. As Eve looked at him she realised he looked pathetic.

Letting out a long drawn sigh so she knew he could hear her annoyance she turned around to look at him once more. "Will it get you off my back if I listen to you?"

"That's all I want," he assured leading her inside the car. Once inside he gestured for his driver to start the car again before he turned back to Eve. "It's about that Sorceress you went to see. She's escaped."

Eve let out a small laugh at his words, not believing what he said. "Oh please, if something that drastic had happened it would be all over the media, no one would keep something like that a secret. She's wanted property by you and many other people now isn't she? Why do you expect me to believe that?"

"Because it's true. My people were hanging around near the scene, so I've managed to keep the area secure and stop people knowing. Luckily she hasn't gone on another killing rampage yet. I just need to get the facts sorted before we go telling the world about what's happened."

"We?" Eve looked amazed as she saw the President's gaze on her. He still thought they were on the same side. He still really believed after everything that had happened that this could actually work out. "I'm not being a part of your side anymore. Why don't you understand that?"

The President looked at her curiously, "You've shown an interest in her as well as me. There's someone else involved, Eve. The scientists say there's no way she'd ever have been able to break out that room unless she had some help from outside. You've got her to speak before, I need you to help me find her. We'll do this together."

Eve's expression suddenly turned very serious. "What makes you think that me of all people would help you?" she looked at him exasperated. "You're the President, she killed your army. And I'm a Sorceress, I'm the same kind as her. We're not on the same side in this situation."

"We both want her though," the President spoke. "That's enough isn't it? If we work together we'll have more chance finding her."

"And what are you going to do when you find her Mr President?" Eve asked, suddenly feeling angry. "Sure we both might have an interest in her, but you want justice for all the lives she killed. For all of your soldiers who have died under her hand. What does that leave you to do when you find her?"

The realisation of her words suddenly sank in and he never felt so opposite from the girl who sat before him. She was right, even though she was everything he wanted, she was everything that he stood against. The silence was the only answer he could give, and it was the only answer she needed.

"I'm the same as who you're trying to kill, remember?" she said impatiently. "Can I go now?"

The President took a moment to gather his thoughts. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid, of course she couldn't help him. He should have let her go. He should still be angry at her for what she did to him. She made a fool of him and he still came crawling back to her just to have her company, to try and make things how they were before this had happened.

He shook his head, "No, there's one more thing I need to tell you," he said still half lost in his thoughts, he barely heard the words come out of his own mouth. "I got a call yesterday from a strange man who belonged to some group. He was threatening to attack my army, saying that we're all 'vermin who should rot in hell.' I think he's been studying us closely, I'm not exactly sure if he's a threat, you have to understand as a President its easy to piss someone off so they get all psycho, but just in case make sure that your careful from now on. I've told all my men the same thing, and now I've told you as well. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Eve nodded her head, suddenly looking deep in thought. The car came to a stop near the street where her apartment was but she stayed put, her earlier need to leave the President now not present. "Did he say what group he belonged to?" She tilted her head towards him, suddenly interested in what he had to say.

President Deling thought for a moment. "Peace.. Something. I can't really remember much only th-"

"The Peace Makers?" she interrupted, her voice suddenly sounding urgent.

"Yes," the president thought again, "Yes I think that was what he might have said".

"Oh no," Eve put her head in her hands, exhaustion of the stress that surrounded her suddenly settling in. "Whatever you do, promise me you won't do anything to give them a reason to attack you. Please promise me that."

"What is it Eve?" he quizzed. "Have you dealt with these people before? I'll get some soldiers to protect you if that is what you need."

Eve shook her head, "No, it's not that at all. They're not a threat to me. In fact, I think the person you spoke to was Ed Wilson. He is my Father.." The accusing look she got from Deling suddenly made her feel very uncomfortable. "I'm not a part of him or his stupid group, so don't give me that look. He hasn't spoken to me in years so I don't know what he's doing. But I do know that since one of your soldiers came looking for me and shot my mother, he hasn't exactly been himself the last few years. Every minute of his life he dedicates to hating anyone who fights or belongs to some form of military group. It started out as a pacifist group, but I've seen the hatred he carries with him day in and day out, I just know he's capable of something far worse. It kills me to say it, but I know he's trying to do something big."

It was Deling's turn to let out an exasperated sigh. "So let me get this straight, your Father is the head of a group that will try to get revenge on my army? If he becomes a threat to us and to this mission I'm not going to tolerate some man and his gang with a grudge. I don't like threats, Eve. Especially when they get in the way of what I'm trying to achieve."

It was then that the sting of tears threatening to fall built up in Eve's eyes. She could put herself in danger, but she hated seeing those she loved and cared for become a danger. She looked at Deling through watering eyes. "Please don't kill him," her voice went from pleading to angry as she looked at the President. "Don't you dare kill him. I swear I'll hurt you if you even lay a finger on him."

"What are you going to do, Eve? You can't fight my entire army can you now?" the President smirked, but as soon as his words escaped his lips he suddenly felt guilty at his patronising tone. "I'm sorry Eve, I'll try everything in my power not to let that happen to him. But you have to understand that if he becomes a major threat to my army, these things can't be helped. He's doing it to himself, Eve. You're a smart girl, don't let him bring you down. And anyway, I'm leaving town tonight to go to Esthar for a while, I'm sure he won't follow us all the way there."

Eve sat silent for a long while, her face not showing any kind of emotion as she stared out of the window. Raindrops ran down in tears down the glass, distorting her view of outside which led to her home. "Why do you still want me around?" she asked, her tone and face now looked completely normal as if nothing was wrong in the world.

The President raised a hand to caress her soft face and trail across her jaw line. "Because you're the only one I trust. You make me feel the happiest I've ever been. I feel human around you, I feel like I could be the person I always wanted to be if you'd just let me in."

Eve coldly pushed his hand away, not liking his words. "You're not the only one who's leaving town. I'm going to look for Rinoa too. I want to protect her, to see if I can help her."

Deling smiled, feeling a great respect for the pride of this girl who had come so suddenly into his life. "Well I guess I'll see you at the grand finale then, won't I?"

She nodded her head, gathering her bags together and opening the car door. "I guess you will," she said before closing the door and making her way into her apartment. She wanted this to be the last time she saw the President. This time she never looked back to see his face and say goodbye.

* * *

The stars in the sky glowed elegantly in the sky that hung over the vast land. The one thing that was comforting about the sky, was that it followed everyone around whether they wanted it or not. It was comforting to know that somewhere, the sky hung over _her._ The sky which they had once been in when they were lost out in space. That had been the most terrifying yet the best thing he had ever done in his life. The thought that they were going to die, but just knowing that he had shown her that he did care for her. He did love her. He'd gone out in space just to be next to her as they slowly died together, had that fate happened he wouldn't have cared. It was better than losing her and never telling her how he really felt. That he had fallen for her, he had fallen for her bad. 

Stepping away from the window he sat down at his desk and opened a drawer, inside sat a leather box. It had been there for months now. The question that he had always wanted to ask her had never been asked. Maybe if he'd asked her sooner, then she wouldn't have distanced herself from him and become what she became. Opening the box he looked at the ring, it was beautiful, only the best for her. Now he doubted he would ever give it to her.

Putting the ring back in the safety of the drawer he looked out of the window once more. He wondered if somewhere she was looking at that same sky. Or was she huddled against a wall somewhere alone and terrified at what she had done? But what if that had all been an act? What if she was in some building somewhere plotting her next attacks? Choosing the next victims she wished to kill.

No, he couldn't think like that. He had seen her himself as he sat there against the wall watching the girl he loved escape out of his life once more. She had that sway to her walk, that same sway that he had seen in space. He had even seen people thrown back whenever they got close to her, again just like in space. It filled him with a slight hope that maybe this all wasn't her fault. Maybe she had been possessed after all. She had hugged him, she had told him she was afraid. That was enough to say that she didn't want to do the things she did.

Leaving the building was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. He had promised to stay there with her, to stay with her no matter what happened. But then she had left. He should have gone after her, maybe he could have stopped her or found out where she was going. Now he had no clue where she was, he was right back at square one again. Simply waiting for more sightings to be seen of her as she killed innocent people.

Only a handful of people knew of her escape he guessed. It seemed that as soon as she became possessed… or strong enough to escape.. He wasn't sure which, but as soon as she had gone Galbadian Soldiers had come out of nowhere to survey the scene. They made sure that everyone stayed in place, ensuring that no one called for any other forces. Galbadia was leading this investigation now. Luckily enough for Squall one of the scientists had helped him quietly slip away out of the building. It had been hard to leave so suddenly, but it was all he could do. He left out the back door, he failed Rinoa.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Squall." A voice called through the door. He suddenly scorned himself for forgetting to close his office door. He wasn't in the mood for a lecture right now.

"I'm not doing anything to myself," he said looking busy on his computer. "I'm typing up a report about Esthar for Cid before we get an investigation going."

"It's been two days since you came back to Garden, Squall" Quistis responded, ignoring his attempt to ignore confrontation. "You've hardly spoke two words to anyone. I know this is really hard for you, really I do. But you have to talk to someone. We're all here for you."

Oh how he hated this, seeing the sympathetic look in her eye, he really was back at square one. "I hate that look," he said bluntly. "And I hate this speech."

Quistis gave a small smile, as little as it seemed, it was a breakthrough to get him to say something other than a one word answer. "I just want you to open up a little, Squall. Your hurting inside, we all know that. But at least come to one of us. Shout at us, cry with us. Just do something!"

Giving up looking busy Squall leaned back in his chair rubbing his temple. "I don't know what there is to say," he replied honestly. He'd grown to learn that people left him alone more if he gave them at least a little something that they wanted. He wasn't in the mood let out his feelings, but he wasn't in the mood for an argument or lecture either.

"There, that's wasn't hard was it," Quistis responded seeming satisfied with herself. "That was a little less old-Squall-like thing to say."

"That's all your getting, so don't seem too smug with yourself," Squall responded. His attention suddenly turned to a different topic, after all his mind had been thinking the last few days, it seemed a welcoming release to be able to talk about something else. "How's Seifer doing?" he asked.

Quistis shrugged, noting the change of topic that had suddenly appeared. Her relationship with Squall had changed a lot over the years, they both shared a mutual understanding of each other. She know knew how much to push him before he would get irritated. Similarly he knew when she was hiding her feelings. Sometimes he would sit near her when she was alone. This was her cue to speak to him about what was going on in her head. He never gave any advice, that wasn't what Squall did. He just sat and listened, and for that she was grateful. Like siblings they had a silent understanding of each other.

"He still hasn't spoken to Cid," she responded. "I haven't really seen him doing a lot really. Most of the time he just walks around Garden just kind of watching people. I never really had him down as the people watcher kind."

"Do you trust him?" Squall asked inquisitively. "I haven't seen a lot of him, but from what people say he's changed. What do you think?"

Quistis knew this was Squall's way of saying he trusted her opinion. He hadn't built an opinion himself, rumours were always floating around Garden about someone. She realised this was his was of saying if she knew he wasn't the same Seifer as before, that he had changed, then Squall would forget the past and start fresh with Seifer himself.

"Yes," Quistis responded quietly. "I think I do trust him. He's showing a different side to himself that I never thought I'd see in him. He's almost charming at times."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Squall responded monotonously.

Quistis let out a laugh, seeing the doubt in Squall's face. Her expression changed to concern. "Don't stay up all night in your office working Squall. Tomorrow we're going to start looking for Rinoa, I at least want you to try and get some sleep."

Squall nodded his head silently, "I'll try soon," he responded.

Standing up Quistis walked towards his desk and reached for a cup that sat beside a pile of paperwork. "I'm taking your coffee cup just to be safe," she said playfully before heading to the doorway. "Goodnight Squall" she said. She didn't get a response out of him, she already knew that he was lost in his thoughts again. It made her sad to see him this way, she would do anything to get Rinoa back so that everything could be normal again. Of course she knew that this could never happen now.

A cough from behind made her startle as she turned to see Seifer stood in the hallway. "Seifer," she responded breathlessly as her heart had skipped a beat from the scare. "I didn't know you were out here, you going to see Cid?"

Seifer looked at the door which read Cid's name on the front, it was situated next to Squall's office and he was lingering halfway between the two. "I don't really know," he responded. "I went for a walk and ended up here."

"Oh," Quistis responded thinking that perhaps there was more to it than he was letting on. "Well, he'll probably still be in his office now if you want to see him."

The blonde shook his head, "I think I'll pass." He suddenly looked interested as he looked at the door of Squall's office. "Puberty boy finally grew up and got his own office I see."

"Yes," Quistis said watching Seifer curiously. "You okay?"

Seifer rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. What had gotten into him recently? Since he stepped foot in this place he had found himself getting all soft, he hated it, but there was something on his mind and it was killing him. "I guess I just thought if I ever went back to Garden everything would be the same as it was before. You know.. Fujin, Raijin and me goofing around with people. You still the Instructor telling me what to do and what not to do. Giving me that lecture about how I have talent but I lack motivation."

Quistis smiled at the memories, "Yeah that was a long time ago I guess."

"It doesn't feel that long ago to me though," he admitted. "I came here expecting everything to be the same and I find out Selphie and Zell are Instructors, Irvine has his own special class teaching people about weapons, your second in line to the Headmaster. Squall's got his own expensive oak door office. Everything's changed so much, and it feels like I haven't changed at all."

She looked shocked at his words, she never really thought about how it would affect him to see Garden again. Thinking about it a lot had changed, everything was so different now. They'd all grown a lot over the years. "I guess I never really thought about it that way," she responded. A thought entered her mind as she looked at Seifer. His posse, did he miss them? "Have you seen Fujin and Raijin yet Seifer?" Quistis asked.

The mention of their names brightened his eyes up, but saddened him at the same time. "No, I was banished from seeing them. Good old Cid didn't even let me say goodbye to them. They probably think I betrayed them, Hyne they probably hate me after all these years."

Quistis smiled knowing that she was finally bringing some good news to Seifer. "Well they're still here in Balamb. Why don't you go speak to them sometime?"

"They're still her?" Seifer felt shocked and excited at the same time.

"Well.. Not exactly here," Quistis responded, her smile widening. "They joined the Balamb police force, turns out they're pretty damn good at their job. You should go down to Balamb tomorrow and see them, I'm sure they'll be delighted to see you."

For the first time in a long time, Seifer gave a genuine smile. Not a smile of mock before a battle, or a smile at someone else's pain. But a smile that meant he was happy at the thought of seeing his friends. "I can't believe they're in the police," he thought out loud. "You think they'll be pleased to see me?"

"Of course!" Quistis responded, finally glad to give some good news to someone. Bad things seemed to be happening everywhere, it was refreshing to finally do something to make someone happy, rather than see their anguish.

"Do you… wanna come with me Quistis?" Seifer asked coyly. "Just in case they kick my ass for not speaking to them for so long. You know how Fujin gets when she's pissed. I'd need some back up if she got like that towards me."

"Of course," Quistis said with a laugh. Deep inside of her a part of her felt guilty for being happy when there was so much going wrong in the world. She only had to look at the door to Squall's office to witness the sadness that people were carrying with them. But for this moment, what she needed was a little bit of normality. A little something to make her have hope that there was good in life after all.

Authors note: Thank you for all the reviews! It means a lot to get some feedback on this story since I've been writing it for over two years now, I've been a member on here for five! It's amazing how long its been, but I like to see that I'm always improving as a writer and that my stories don't suck majorly. Thank you all very much. I hope the chapter wasn't too boring, they'll be more answers given over the next few chapters. Until next time! Lionheart1


	17. Chapter Seventeen Calling the Darkness

WARNING: There may be parts in this chapter that some people may find upsetting. If any of you are affected by this, I'm truly sorry. This is written purely for fiction, not to cause offence to anyone.

The Path of Time

Chapter Seventeen

_People are lonely in this world for lots of different reasons. Some people have something in their disposition. Maybe they were just born too mean, or maybe they were born too tender. But most people are brought to where they are by circumstance, by calamity or a broken heart or something else happening in their lives that wasn't anything they planned on. People are lonely in this world for lots of reasons. The one thing I do know is, it doesn't matter what any one of them might tell you - nobody wants to be alone._

**Allie Keys _Steven Spielberg's 'Taken'_**

The room was dark and damp. A tattered and falling curtain gave the only glimpse of the outside world, she could just see the dull glow of the stars in the sky as the moonlight traced a line of light in the dark and dank room illuminating it enough so she could just about make out the mess and obvious abandonment of this unfamiliar place. How she had got here she had no idea. The simple task to think about who she was and how she had got here seemed too much effort.

She was exhausted, her mouth was so dry it felt like sandpaper. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten or drank anything. She couldn't even recall how long she have been here. Hours? Days? Even weeks? She didn't know. So exhausted she never woke up long enough to register how long it had been before she ended up falling into a deep sleep, or did she fall unconscious? She wasn't sure which is was. Either way, it wasn't long before the dark realms of unconsciousness overcame her.

A sound came from further within the house; she tensed as she heard his presence coming closer and instantly drew in a sharp breath at the pain in her bare wrists. She had been bound to the bed on which she lay, the tight rope slowly corroding through her layers of skin making any movement she made become excruciatingly painful. The sheets in which she lay on had become stiff with her excretion since she hadn't been able to go to a bathroom. She was filthy, all humanity that she had remaining in her now stolen. She felt like an animal trapped inside a cage. A horrible animal.

She jumped as the door to the room swung open and sent a loud crash echoing through the room as it collided with the wall. In tumbled the figure of a man, the stench of sweat and alcohol reaching her senses before he had even come near her. She closed her eyes pretending to be unconscious as a feeble attempt to try and make him leave her alone. It was all to no avail as this man seemed to have less humanity than she did even when she was tied to the bed with her excretion dried against her legs.

Her whole body cringed as he climbed onto the bed mumbling incoherently to himself. The smell of alcohol was overpowering, she couldn't help trying to suppress an urge to gag and she heard the familiar sound of his trouser zip undoing. This man didn't care if she was asleep or not. She had woken up to him doing this before, hadn't she? It was all one blurry mess in her head she wasn't even sure which was dream and which was real.

A small sound escaped her lips as he forced himself inside of her, and like an animal he thrust himself inside her. Like a blind stinking drunk animal he dove into her, his breath becoming pants. Each thrust was like a knife slicing down her insides, she wanted to scream and cry and call out for someone. To get her out of this place. To stop this sorry excuse of a man from doing this to her. But no matter how much she suppressed her screams, she couldn't do that.

Eventually the torture ended and he stopped tearing himself into her. It was as she felt his seed running down her leg and he quietly left the room as if nothing has happened, that she realised she deserved all of this. She deserved so much more than this. She refused to scream, because after he had done this to her, she remembered all of the faces of her victims. She remembered their screams as they pleaded for their lives. But she never stopped did she? In some sick way this was her karma. It was her torture to endure, and she would rather have to go through this forever than face her own demons.

Her memory came flooding back to her just like the semen running down her leg, it ran onto the sheets where it would dry and leave its mark among the other undignified waste that had clotted together on those bed sheets. She had been a horrible person before, hadn't she? She had been Rinoa Heartilly, the corrupt Sorceress who had lost her mind. She had tortured and mangled people in a single blow, all the time feeling that great sense of power inside of her. The power that she enjoyed as she watched people suffer.

It all became a blur of murderous adventures until that day in the military base where she had suddenly found herself snap out of her trance. As if somehow she had been in some sort of dreamlike state where she could only feel the power within her, the satisfying feeling of torturing someone becoming like a drug to her. How scared she had been when she found herself in a room full of mangled bodies in that military base. She could fool herself into believing that she couldn't remember how she got there, the difference was she just chose not to remember. She refused to think of what had overcome her. The fact that she just wanted a really big challenge, a group of people that were strong and would fight back being her reasons for the military base. Innocent people didn't satisfy her cravings anymore. She became tired of hearing their pleas, feeling a yearning for wanting something more. She wanted them to stand up to her. To try and defeat her.

She turned uncomfortably on the bed, as if the physical gesture would stop the thoughts running through her head. It didn't help. She hadn't thought about this in a long time, refusing to let herself face up to what she had really done. The sterile room in which she had spent weeks locked away reflected what she had become inside. She had shut herself off from the rest of the world, becoming mute and teaching her mind to shut down completely. It became hard to even focus when people entered the room. She knew that Squall had been there, which only made her feel worse. She never wanted Squall to see what she had become. She didn't want him to know what vivid urges had been growing inside of her the remaining weeks she spent at Garden before she disappeared. For his safety she left, not wanting him to know that something had happened inside her mind. She found herself lost in a world where all she could think of was wars, fantasising about people being murdered. All she could think about was the power that lay within her, and she had spent the last few years trying not to learn what she could do. But she felt it within her, she felt the Sorceress in her clouding her mind.

It had been easy to shut herself away from all of those thoughts and knowing what she had been thinking when she had been in the room. Her mind shut down and her body locked away so she could not hurt anyone, she felt safe. She hadn't wanted to leave that small room that had become hers, had she?

Then why had she not been able to shut her mind down anymore? Why did she finally open up to Squall and not let the guilt bother her anymore. She still wanted him, she never wanted to leave him. But how could he accept that she needed to kill people like a smoker needs their dose of nicotine? As stupid as it sounded, she was addicted. And now she was back out in the real world, no longer safe. What if she escaped from here and stumbled across some people, would she kill them? She wasn't sure anymore.

The thought crossed her mind that maybe she had died, yes maybe that was right. She had died and now she was in some sort of sick hell where she got what she deserved and in between the bursts of the animal that mounted her she was forced to face what she had done. What she had become. Perhaps this was her eternity now.

A pain erupted through her sending her whole body to tense up as she felt the warm crimson spill out of her. As a small scream escaped her lips she remembered how she had hurt Squall before she had left. How she had hurt lots of people, because she needed to escape. Someone was calling for her, she remembered sensing someone calling her name and she followed after it. She had made her way out of Esthar in that same trance like state she had been in when she chose her victims. Making her way out of the city and into a nearby forest where her memory became cloudy and dark as she remembered the ground closing in on her.

What had happened afterwards, she wasn't sure. Had the voice all been in her head, that other Sorceress part of herself taking over and making sure she left Esthar. Perhaps some sick bastard had picked the fallen girl off the ground and taken her to his home where she now resided strapped to the bed and waiting for the next time the door burst open so she would brace herself for the pain that was to come. She remembered waking up for a brief moment to the steady hum of a car engine and could just make out the feel of the seats on which she lay. Since then she had woken up in this strange house, in this immoral filthy place only to already feel the pain stinging between her legs.

The sting of tears made their way to the surface and ran down her face. She cried for everything she ever did to deserve this fate. She cried as she heard the sounds of the strange man banging around the house in his drunken state until he made his way back up to her.

"I need you, Squall," she called out as another burst of pain ran through her trembling body. She repeated his name in her mind, remembering his face and all of the good moments that they had shared. She clung onto those memories as the darkness overcame her and once again she fell unconscious.

* * *

Squall awoke to the sound of someone calling his name. Groggily he lifted his head, feeling disorientated. He swore for a brief moment the voice sounded like _her. _As his tiredness began to seep away he heard the sound of knocking on his door and the familiar voice of Xu calling his name.

"I'm coming," he said stumbling around his room to find some clothes. Not taking notice of what he was wearing, he really didn't care right now, he made his way to the door.

"Sorry to wake you, Squall," Xu spoke not even giving him a chance to fully open the door before she got down to business. "Cid wants you to come to his office as soon as you can, he has a lot of information that you would like to hear concerning Rinoa."

He watched as she gave the SeeD salute, before walking away from him. Just the mention of her name woke him up completely, he didn't waste his time gathering his things together before making his way through Garden to the elevator. On his way he saw Quistis and Seifer making their way to the entrance of the Garden, not having time to wonder where they were going he gave them a quick nod before stepping inside of the elevator. His feet moved fast, but he became impatient as he wasn't moving fast enough to fulfil his need to know what Xu had been talking about. It was information about Rinoa, whether it was good or bad he wasn't sure, but he just needed to hear some information about her.

The commander stepped inside Cid's office, his mind so set on Rinoa he forgot to even knock on the door. He shrugged it off, sure that the Headmaster really wouldn't care if he knocked or not.

"Sir," he said as soon as he entered. He stopped in his tracks as he saw Cid talking to a familiar looking girl who sat beside his desk.

"Ah Squall," Cid said gesturing for him to take a seat. "I'm glad you came quickly, as you can see we've had a special visitor today which she informs me you've already met."

Squall looked at the girl no older than himself and suddenly registered who it was. Of course, it was the Sorceress who had been to see Rinoa. "It's good to see you again," he said to the girl.

"You too," she smiled sweetly, before turning to the Headmaster again. She didn't waste any time with formalities, Squall observed. He liked her already.

"As you are both aware Galbadia have quickly taken over the issue of Rinoa's escape and decided to keep it secret the last few days. Only today have they revealed to the world about what has happened. Although they haven't given many details, they've specifically stated that she is highly wanted, they're even giving a large amount of money for anyone who can give details of her whereabouts or even get hold of her somehow."

Cid let his news sink in for a moment before speaking again, "I'm sure we all feel the same in that we don't want any harm to come from Rinoa if we can help it. Meaning now it's a race against time to try to find evidence, if any, of her being under some sort of possession and also to find her before President Deling does. We sent a group of SeeD's to Esthar the night Squall came back to Balamb to question the people involved and to deal with the Galbadian army situation. They're swarming the place for the moment, Eve has bravely informed me of the Presidents plans to go to Esthar himself which we suspect he should be arriving there at some point today."

"Today has had a small breakthrough when one of the cadets reported back to me at their findings. It turns out that perhaps Rinoa wasn't alone in this, and there definitely was no way that even another Sorceress would be able to get through the rooms protective barrier to possess Rinoa. However, from investigation of the room we've found something very interesting. Planted in the room was an EMP device which was planted under Rinoa's bed. In case your unsure, this is an electro magnetic device which as a reaction to the room will lower the anti-magic barrier around the room allowing Rinoa to escape. There have been reports of a mole in the Esthar laboratory as one of the scientists have been taken away under suspicion of planting the EMP. Is everyone following what I'm saying so far?"

Squall thought for a moment, absorbing what he had heard. "So the EMP lowered the anti-magic field. Meaning that if a Sorceress were to possess her, she would be able to be possessed. Or that Rinoa would be able to escape herself."

Cid nodded, "Either possibility is just as likely as the other. Once we get reports back from the SeeD's concerning the outcome of the questioning we might be able to get a better idea of who he was working for. Although with what has been happening recently, many people have suspicions that the Peace Makers might have something to do with this. Eve came to me herself this morning and said that she herself is not sure what they are doing as her father is the leader of the group. But they are planning something big."

"They're the group that shut down Trabia Garden," Squall stated. "Why would they have something to do with this in Esthar?"

"There have been reports of members of the Peace Makers attacking and making threats towards the Galbadian Army. Perhaps Trabia was just a tester of how strong they were, now they're onto the serious stuff. They're terrorists so their behaviour may be erratic. Their group is expanding immensely, in every place we've checked there have been reports of at least a few Peace Makers being present, they're even here in Balamb. That suggests that something big is going to happen, and it's probably going to happen fast. Irvine and Zell have already been briefed to go on a small mission this afternoon so we can see if we can get any information out of them."

Eve moved in her seat slightly, speaking for the first time since Cid had started briefing them on what was happening. "I plan on joining your friends too this afternoon," she said to Squall. "They know me through my father, so maybe if I'm there they will have more chance of revealing some information."

"You sure its safe for her to go?" Squall asked Cid after a moments thought.

Cid gave a small smile, "Eve came to us in full knowledge of the risks involved. If anything were to happen I'm sure Irvine and Zell could protect her."

Squall nodded his head. "Is there anything for me to do?"

"Get some rest for the meantime," the Headmaster said, and instantly Squall felt himself become irritated as he saw why he hadn't been given anything to do. He knew that this was because of Rinoa going missing, this was for sympathy of the loss of her. "Maybe show Eve around the Garden, she hasn't had a tour of the place yet."

A tour of Garden. He suddenly felt ill in his stomach as the memories through his mind sparked to life once more. He remembered giving Rinoa a tour of the Garden, the determination and demanding in her voice. Of course back then he hadn't wanted to take her, he would have done anything not to. But now, looking back on it he would do just about anything to go back to that very day when everything was normal. The thought brought a sinking feeling deep within his stomach as he felt his longing for her come to the surface. _Hyne, Rinoa, I can't take it without you._

Giving the SeeD salute, Squall barely noticed Eve following behind him until they were in the elevator and she finally spoke up. Her voice was soft but serious, determined yet naïve at the same time.

"You have to get to Rinoa before Galbadia," she spoke. "You have to."

Letting out a sigh, Squall looked to the floor feeling slightly annoyed. Of course he had to, that's all he had been thinking about the last few days. Getting her back and finding out what had become of her. "She could be anywhere, chances are slim we'll even get a lead until she does something to show herself."

Eve nodded her head in thought. "I can tell you're one of the good ones," she said as the elevator set into motion as it made its way down the floors of the Garden. "I know you'll take care of her. You don't deserve to be left in the dark anymore, I can see you care for her a lot. I'm sure deep down in Rinoa, she still feels the same."

The doors slipped open leading out onto the main floor of Balamb Garden, Squall was first to step out making his way through the familiar grounds. "I doubt it," he said under his breath, but Eve caught his words. They were faint, but she heard them none the less.

"Just keep waiting, I'm sure you'll have a breakthrough soon," Eve pressed. "You'll find her. You have to."

A brief glance from the commander acknowledged her words and he walked down the steps and stopped outside one of the first corridors in the beautiful Garden. "This is the infirmary," Squall said, his voice lacking enthusiasm, he tried his hardest not to let the memories drift back to him of when he showed Rinoa around Garden. How he really would do anything to go back to that time. He really would.

"The doctor here is Dr. Kadowaki, she's available most days to tend to anyone who's injured. So if you get hurt, this is where you'll end up," he spoke, using his words to stop anymore thoughts entering his mind.

* * *

The many windows which looked into the offices down the corridor showed rooms full of paperwork scattered in tall piles on the desks which they sat. A distant sound of the ringing from a phone echoed somewhere further along the building until eventually someone would answer. As they came to a halt outside a door, a feeling of anxiety spread within the man. What was to happen in the next few moments he wasn't sure. Would he have a lot of explaining to do? Or would they not give him chance to speak and tell him to leave? He wasn't sure.

The blonde woman looked at him curiously, a warm smile on her face. She didn't give him chance to think this through, before she knocked boldly on the door. She didn't even know the inner argument he was having with himself for agreeing to come here, but now here they were. It was as if he were stood at a crossroad in his life, one road led out into the past, the other continued on blindly, and he wasn't sure which one was the best road to take.

"Quistis," a familiar voice called from in the office as she had opened the door a fraction. "What can I do for you today? You'll have to bear with me if you want something done urgently, I've got a lot to do today, ya know?"

"I promise its nothing that'll involve paperwork," she said with a smile forming on her face, she looked back at Seifer briefly before returning her attention back through the door. "There's someone here to see you."

It felt like he were an actor thrown onto a stage in front of a big audience when he didn't know any lines. He didn't know what he was supposed to do as she opened the door wide and pushed him inside. There in the room with shocked faces stood Fujin and Raijin, his friends. His posse. And he had no idea what to say. He suddenly wished he had never come to this place. He couldn't stand to see the look of disappointment on the two people's faces that he actually cared about.

"Seifer," Raijin was the first to speak up. It took him a moment to register that it was really him, he really was back after all these years. He let out a hearty laugh as he ran over and locked the former Sorceress' Knight in a bear hug. "It's been a while, ya know?"

"Yeah.." Seifer said, speaking for the first time as he was released from Raijin's death grip. Behind the dark man he saw Fujin who stood there silently, evidently still in shock, but the small smile that slowly formed on her lips was enough to make him feel at ease. They weren't angry to see him, that was enough to make him feel that somehow this trip was worth it.

"Where the hell have you been all this time?" Raijin spoke up again. "We woke up one day and you'd disappeared without a trace, ya know?"

"I'm sorry about that," Seifer said, anger and guilt spreading through him. "I never wanted to leave. I would've said goodbye to you if I could've. I would've asked you to come with me even, but it's a bit complicated…" Seifer trailed off not really sure of how to explain everything to them.

Raijin shrugged off Seifer's feeble attempt to explain. "We knew you wouldn't have left without saying goodbye if there wasn't a good reason for it. We always knew one day you'd be back. It's not like you to make a quiet exit." He turned to Fujin who nodded in agreement to Raijin's statement, although Seifer could see that she wasn't as able to shrug everything off as Raijin was.

"Explain." She spoke up the first time. Fujin, who was never one for making conversation unless it was necessary, had always had her way of bluntly getting what she wanted out of people. And when she did speak, it made it that much more effective. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, remembering the last time he had heard her speak normally. It had been when she and Raijin stopped following Seifer in the days when he was infatuated with the idea of being a Knight. How he had wished he had listened to what she had said. If he had just given it up then, maybe somehow it would have made everything that little bit better.

"I didn't leave on my own accord, Cid threw me out of Balamb," he said to Fujin, also aware that she liked things to be said simply. No explanations, just pure facts of what happened. That was her way in life. "It was a joint decision between Cid and the Mayor, they gave me a nice big cheque and sent me on my way in the night without a word. Not even Quistis or anyone else from Garden knew about it."

"That sucks, ya know?" Raijin said, a look of shock present on his face as he absorbed Seifer's word. "Didn't know Cid could be such an ass."

"Now?" came the demanding voice of Fujin.

The question caught Seifer off guard as he found himself asking the same question. What was he doing now? The truth was, he didn't actually know, it had just been where his life had taken him. He had been welcomed back to Balamb and its Garden, for what? To carry on where he left off and become a SeeD? He wasn't even sure if he wanted that life anymore. He didn't know what he wanted anymore. It suddenly occurred to him that for the last four years he had been drifting to wherever his life took him. He hadn't taken control or done something about it, he had purely sailed along letting his life pass him by because he was too lost in his own mind of guilt from what he had become. He almost laughed out loud, even here seeing his two old friends he had that same sinking feeling. Everyone had made something of their lives, they'd all found their purpose, something that they were good at. But what was his calling?

"Seifer helped us in Trabia," Quistis spoke up, feeling the need to cover Seifer's sudden silence. "Unfortunately his bravery meant that it wasn't safe for him there anymore so he's come back to Balamb for the while."

Raijin nodded his head a huge smile forming on his lips. "I knew you still had it in you, still know how to piss people off, ya know?"

"Raijin, I need to ask a favour of you," Quistis spoke up. "Is there anywhere we can speak?"

The former instructor made her way into another office down the corridor as she followed behind Raijin leaving Fujin and Seifer alone in the room. He stared at the office door from which they had just departed, before Fujin's voice brought his attention back.

"You've gone soft," she spoke.

Seifer looked at Fujin as he would have looked at her years ago, somehow it was easier to act his old self around her. "What makes you say that?"

The albino woman looked at him a moment as if working it out herself. "You can say it out loud. It was tough being out there on your own, and Cid should have never made you go when you were weak."

"Since when am I weak?" he questioned, looking at Fujin, feeling annoyance growing at being called weak.

"The old you would have refused to leave and made sure everyone saw you were still in Balamb. You wouldn't have left Garden unless they shipped you out of here sedated and in a cage like a wild animal. But you didn't, you just ran away and left."

Taking a seat at one of the desks, Seifer looked at Fujin. _I give up, _he thought to himself as he looked in surrender. "Your right," he said simply.

"You were wrong," she stated. Seeing his look of confusion, she continued speaking. "Cid did tell someone about sending you away. He told me a while ago what had happened. You need to speak to him like he asked you to when you first arrived here. You need to hear him out. You're not the only one who makes mistakes, Seifer. How do you expect yourself to be forgiven if you can't lose your pride and forgive Cid?"

"You don't understand what it was like out there," he said. He hated the way Fujin could get inside his mind. He hated that she knew him far too well, yet at the same time it made him crave her friendship even more. She always pulled through for him.

"I think I do understand," she said quietly. "I think the reason why you let yourself leave was because you needed to face up to your demons in order to heal yourself."

_I give up, _his mind repeated, and he felt something inside him self break away. He felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders as she said the words he needed to hear. "You've been lucky enough to be given a second chance," her tone turned harsh. "Don't screw up."

After those words she remained quiet, falling back into her usual silent self as he also found himself lost in his thoughts and repeating her words over and over in his mind. He knew deep down that she was right. Even after he had spent the next few hours with them both talking about the past and laughing about the old times, her words still lingered there like a bad taste in his mouth.

It was on the walk back to Garden with Quistis when he knew his real challenge would begin. He could tell that something was on her mind, she looked uncomfortable and confused. Like she wanted to speak but didn't know what to say, many times he saw her mouth move as if she was about to say something, but nothing would come out and she'd remain silent. Just as Seifer was growing impatient and going to ask himself what she wanted to say, she spoke as if reading his mind.

"There's something you should know," she said, her tone serious. "It's about the girl you told me about, back in Trabia. The one who turned out to be a Sorceress."

Seifer felt himself stiffen uncomfortably at the thought of her. "What about her?" he asked, his voice contrasting with what he felt inside.

"She arrived at Garden this morning," Quistis said. "She's there now."

It was then Seifer stopped in his tracks, no longer being able to hide the irrational thoughts that were flying through his head. "Why? What the hell does she want Garden for?"

"Seifer, she's not a bad person, she's only here to help Rinoa," Quistis reasoned. "I just thought you should know in case you and her had any unresolved issues.

"You really don't get it?" he spoke, he felt like a damn ready to crumble and let the waters spill all over her. "I _can't _be near a Sorceress. I just can't. Why do you think I was so freaked when I found out she was a Sorceress?"

"It's obvious Ultimecia would make you feel like that, but she's nothing like her-"

"I don't trust myself, Quistis," he shouted. He would shout it to the world if he had to, anything to get Sorceress' away from him. "I told you, they always come to me. They always use my mind against me so then I do what they want. I don't want to do that anymore. You don't know what its like waking up one day and realising what they've made you do."

Quistis stared at the blonde in disbelief as he suddenly didn't seem as stable as she thought he was. She felt worried for him, worried for all that had happened to him and what was going through his head.

"You're scared of them?" she asked lightly, not wanting to make him react any worse.

"I've been moving around trying to get away from them and what they do to me. But they always turn up in my life again. I can't get away from them, Quistis. They always end up right back at my feet and I will not surrender to them."

Quistis watched in shock as she watched the blonde man walk away from her to sit on a nearby bench looking out at the sea. He sat hunched forward, his head resting on his hands as he remained silent. She wasn't sure whether she should leave him be, knowing that the news she had brought has troubled him. She had never guessed that Ultimecia still had such an effect over him, Seifer never let anything get the better of him. That just wasn't his way, and now his cracks were beginning to show at the mention of a Sorceress' name.

Somehow it disappointed her to see him this way. Of all the people at Garden, he was the one person who had had that drive within him to keep pushing. No matter what obstacles got in his way, he was always the one to pull through to whatever goal he wanted to achieve. And now here he was, an evidently broken man in front of her. Funny how she'd never really imagined there would be this side of him before. With a sigh, she made the decision of walking to the bench and sat quietly beside him.

"It's okay to be scared," she said softly. The only response she heard from the person beside her was a scoff at her comment. "You don't think that we're not all scared? I'm terrified of what is going to happen in the next few weeks. I'm scared of what will become of Rinoa, I'm scared for Squall. I'm even scared of what the Peace Makers are planning. Everyone is scared together here, your not the only one who feels like this."

A long sigh left Seifer's lips as his eyes stayed focussed on the gentle flow of the sea. "You're not a great betrayer though," he said slowly, silently kicking himself for even saying his deepest thoughts out loud. "You've always fought on the right side without question. I went down the wrong path without even being conscious about what I was doing until it was too late."

Quistis contemplated his words a moment, watched his features curiously. "I suppose your right, most people don't question what they're doing," she said in deep thought. "I can still remember the first person I killed, it was on my SeeD exam. I was only fifteen and I killed one of the opposing soldiers, even though it was expected of me and I passed my exam, all I could think about was who the soldier was. I couldn't sleep that night, I kept asking myself questions about him. Did he have a family? Would they be upset at hearing the news of his death? Would they feel hate towards the person who had taken his life away?"

"I felt guilty for a long time, but that was my first downfall and the risk I took for taking my exam at such a young age. I tried my hardest not to fight after that, but then I guess I just realised that I had to face my fears. I had to do my job. Honestly, we should all feel guilty for what we do, but war is war. It's never going to change. It doesn't matter whose side we fight for, we're all doing the same thing. The question is are you going to sit and mope all your life about what you've done or are you going to go back out into the battlefield and face your fears once more?"

Seifer looked at her for the first time since she had spoke. "I'm not scared of fighting though, its Sorceress' I don't trust myself around."

Quistis gave a small smile, "It's the same situation. You were on the same side as the Galbadian Army. You want to avoid Sorceress' just like I tried to avoid fighting, but it's a way of our lives. They'll always be Sorceress' just like they'll always be wars that need fighting. You won't know what you've achieved since the war until you take the risk and put yourself in the same situation you put yourself in four years ago. Talk to Eve, she's really not that bad."

"What happens if she is and I end up going with her?" Seifer asked, half joking.

"Then I guess we'll just have to drag you away from her and you can say 'I told you so." she smiled at seeing him looking slightly more content than previously.

Seifer shrugged off his earlier thoughts as he stood from the bench. "I must have spent too much time on my own the last few years," he said as Quistis followed suit, and they began walking through Balamb once more. "I'm starting to seem more like Squall."

Authors note; Thank you for all the reviews! It means a hell of a lot to get some feedback. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and Seifer didn't seem too.. Off.


	18. Chapter Eighteen Standing At The Edge

The Path Of Time

Chapter Eighteen

_We're all standing on the edge of a cliff, all the time, everyday, a cliff we're all going over. Our choice isn't about that. Our choice is about whether we want to go kicking and screaming, or whether we might want to open our eyes and our hearts to what happens once we start to fall._

**Allie Keys _Steven Spielberg__'__s __'__Taken__'_**

A cool breeze made its way across the land, picking up small pieces of debris that lay scattered among the ruins of the damaged building. The man shielded his eyes from the dust in the air as he stepped over the rubble to survey his surroundings. This place had once been part of the beautiful glass city that stretched for miles around them. Yet now in this unsettling place, this building was no longer a part of that beauty. For the second time in the last few weeks, blood had been shed on this calm land. It made him anxious as to what exactly he would find out today among the scattered ruins, the result of the entire front wall of the building collapsing, exposing the interior of the building for all to see.

Beside him he saw his leader looked more intrigued by the scene rather than disturbed. The first hand experience of seeing what had happened seeming to perk up his spirits and making him all the more determined to get to the bottom of this. He walked effortless over the broken pieces of the building, never giving a second glance at the dried crimson which lay on the floor under his feet. He smiled as he saw his men guarding the building, just like he had wanted in the first place, his men were finally taking control.

At the front of the building stood a man in a white lab coat, waiting for their arrival. His features looked pale and tired, evidently he was still in shock about the situation which he was now in. As they approached his head lifted to look up at them, his eyes weary as he wondered what exactly they wanted to do with his laboratory. The scientist straightened his posture as the President and General approached him.

"President Deling," he said formally putting his hand out to shake the mans hand. He turned to the man beside the President, also putting his hand out to repeat the gesture. "General Caraway. It's good to see you again, I only wish it were in better circumstances."

At his words, the President looked to his comrade suspiciously, making Caraway feel slightly uneasy. He didn't realise that the last time he had been here was with Eve, after she had told the President that she went alone to speak to Rinoa. He had felt relief back then, but to be back here surrounded by the same people he couldn't help but feel slightly on edge.

"Dr Zain," the General said after shaking hands with the man. "I'm glad to see no harm has come of you."

The doctor gave a nod at the comment, "We've had one unfortunate death. We've had three quite serious casualties, but luckily all of my people are recovering well. Its just a shame that our laboratory is now ruined."

"Perhaps if you left the Sorceress with us, then you wouldn't be in this mess," the President said impatiently stepping close to the building. "Shall we get down to work?"

The doctor nodded silently as he walked forward leading them around the building and into a side door. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the empty corridor, which was completely unharmed compared to the front of the building. He led them around a corner and into an office full of computers. At the far end of the room was a window which looked into a room. The metal door had been bent from being forced open and many of the machines lay strewn on the floor in shambles.

"This is where the scene happened," the doctor said. He gestured for them to follow him through the battered door and inside the room where there was a single bed in which once Rinoa had sat. He reached into his pocked taking out a small metal device. "This is the EMP that, as you know, allowed her to escape from the room. From here she was able to use her powers to break her way through the door and out into the office where we set up computers monitoring her. The scientists present in the office have all stated that she didn't look at them, she seemed to be in some sort of trance. After security was called they tried to stop her, but she had some form of protection around her meaning that no one could get near her."

The doctor led them back through to the office and out into the corridor once more. "She made her way down here," he said moving down the corridor to where they came to another ruined door. "She destroyed any barrier that was in her way. Through there is the entrance which had the heaviest security but no one was able to get near her from the barrier she held. She ended up blasting down the entire wall to get out as we had vehicles blocking the exit. There's security tapes of her escape if you wish to see them. The whole thing was very quick, I don't think that there's much else I can tell you."

The President took in the scenery surrounding him, picturing the escape in his mind. "Surely if you could control the anti-magic field in the room, you would notice if the intensity of it had lowered."

"The level of the room was checked twice a day. If the anti field were to drop then indeed, we would have been notified," he explained. "However someone had tampered with the machinery, meaning that an alarm wouldn't go off. The EMP could be activated at any time, we're not sure how long it lay dormant in her room for, but we think that it would have been activated just after the machinery had been tampered with."

"Looks like you have a mole then," Deling stated. "My people have questioned him, we even know the little group he's a part of. I never realised they could pull something off as great as this."

"It was an unfortunate mistake, one we will be more aware of in the future," the doctor said playing with the device still in his hands. "He was one of us, he's been here years. I never thought he would fall into such a devious group."

Caraway listened intently to their conversation. Honestly he didn't care for the small details about what had happened. What bothered him most was that his daughter was out in the world again and no one knew where she was to stop her before she hurt people again.

"Was she possessed?" the General asked, wanting to get more answers on his daughter. He needed answers. He just needed to know what had happened to her.

The doctor though for a moment, "Certainly the way she moved appeared for her not to be in control of her own movements," he said. "Although when a Sorceress becomes possessed the impostor will carry a part of their selves into the body. In effect, from the monitors we set up recording her brainwaves, there should have been a reading of an impostor wavelength. This wasn't the case however, instead her vitals fluctuated and began to increase dramatically. I think this was the case of summoning a great amount of power within her."

"So she did this of her own free will," Caraway said, trying the words out in the open to get used to the idea, although still a part of him refused to accept this. But then, did any parent ever want to believe the terrible things their children did?

"I think so," Dr Zain nodded, an apologetic look in his eye. "But for now, the most important thing we have to think about now is where she is and how we can get her back. Preferably as soon as possible. It can only be a matter of time before her motive is brought to a reality. For the safety of the people who could die, we have to get her back to where she can't harm people anymore."

"Then we need an investigation started," the President said. "Did anyone follow her? Do we need to check to areas nearby and see if there have been sightings of her?"

"It has already begun," the doctor stated. "We followed her for as long as we could, but she stopped the vehicles that were trailing behind her. The engines just stopped working. The next day a group of our men went in the direction she had been travelling and after many hours they made a breakthrough. In a nearby forest we found traces of her there, where she had dropped her name tag which we placed on her arm the day she came here."

"Was anything else at the scene?" Caraway asked.

"There were tracks from a vehicle, which suggests that she is probably not alone in this. Someone was waiting to pick her up. We could only trace the tracks so far as they disappear when they lead onto the main road. She could be anywhere now. My scientists are trying to identify the vehicle from the tracks which were left there. Although even if we can identify it, I doubt it'll narrow our chances down at all."

"What do you suggest we do?" the President asked, turning to his comrade.

The General thought for a moment. "I guess we take the only lead we have. The EMP was planted by the member of a resistance group. Meaning that we will have to find out what their motives are, and if they have Rinoa."

The President nodded his head, "Since we've already had threats from the Peace Makers, I say we go head on and arrange to speak with their leader, Ed Wilson." He turned to the doctor who stood patiently in front of him. "Thank you for your time, Dr Zain. We will speak sometime soon."

Upon making their way out of the building, the General couldn't help but feel odd about everything that was happening. He watched the President beside him look frantic and deep in thought planning what was to happen next. A fear lingered over him as he realised that Deling looked just as his father did. He had that same look in his eye, that same lust for his own goals rather than taking care of the people that he needed to help. Rather than taking care of his country.

"Why are you taking such an interest in this case?" Caraway asked as they walked through the rubble. Somehow his previous sadness for this places had numbed slightly from the fears that were now welling within him. "You have a country to run, and you've seemed to abandoned it all. For what?"

"I have people who can run my country," Deling said bluntly. "This case concerns my people and my army. It leads us to the Sorceress. That is why I'm here, I'm surprised you even have to ask."

Suddenly everything fit into place, he could see it from the look in the Presidents eyes. The reason why he personally wanted to go after Rinoa, to put his life on the line and step into the war ground, was because at the end of it he knew that he would see _her. _Presidents didn't fight their own wars, that was just the way the world went. Yet here he was, taking on the role as a soldier. Even taking the role as a General. And the whole thing made him feel uneasy.

"It's because you know Eve is going to be there, isn't it?" he said, already expecting the fierce glare he got from Deling.

"You're lucky you're the best at your job, otherwise I wouldn't give a second thought at dropping you from your rank after the stunt you pulled with Eve. You think I'm stupid? I knew you came here with Eve so she could speak to the Sorceress even before she went running to the media," his voice was harsh. His words lashing through the air as they both stopped in their tracks. The air suddenly turned thick as the President looked at Caraway with disgust. "I'm fed up of my soldiers having to clean up your daughter's mess. Don't hold it against me because your daughter went on a killing rampage. Really Caraway, how long do you think it will be until that daughter of yours kills again?"

And there it was, the downfall of having the Deling blood back as the President. Although his words cut deep, Caraway couldn't stop the realisation coming to the surface. That he was doing this all for Eve, like it would somehow make her come back to him. He had fallen into the same vicious pit his father had, and there was no way of stopping him. He really hoped Richard Deling's fall wouldn't meet the same end as his fathers had.

* * *

The pain was sharp and piercing, the kind of pain that shot straight through her entire body. In an instant her eyes snapped open out of a restless slumber and she was faced with the horror of the man above her. His dark hair fell loosely over his eyes, covering his strained face as he delved inside of her. This was the first time she had awoken in the day, the light hurt her eyes momentarily, but it didn't bother her. Nothing compared to the pain from him inside of her. 

For the first time she saw the man for who he was, never actually seeing his features before. In the dark he was simply a silhouette, the ghost of the being that tortured her in the night. Yet now, she saw him for what he was. A young man, most likely the same age as herself, not the older more twisted looking man she had pictured in her mind. His skin was soft and young, his face looked troubled and naive.

Seeing him made the reality of it sink in like a knife plunging into her stomach. Somehow it had been easier to face this sort of torture in the darkness, where she could make herself believe it was all some sort of twisted dream - she had plenty of those dreams anyway. But now he was here, in the daylight. And it felt like a slap in the face. That this was really happening. The irony of the situation almost made her laugh out loud. She had been the one to kill and torture people. The evil Sorceress who could have been dominating the world since her escape, but somehow she was here. She was tied to a bed with this young man thrusting himself into her. How had the tables turned so much in so little time?

She lay still and quiet staring up at the man's face. A feeling of pride spread over her as she felt that same overpowering feeling of the power that she had within her. The power she would feel when she felt the need to kill. Except somewhere in her mind she knew that if she tried she would not be able to use her powers, she was weak and malnourished. Her mind couldn't even focus for long before she drifted off from her exhaustion. But she used what remaining strength she had to focus on his face, taking in every ounce of his face so that she would never forget it. She would never forget the man who had done this to her. And for a brief moment their eyes locked into one another.

His eyes grew wide and terrified as he saw her looking up at him, her gaze empty with no trace of emotion in it. She looked like a statue. She wasn't scared. There was no anger or hate or even pure fear in her eyes. They just kept staring blankly. It was then that she felt the pain erupting from her nose as she felt his fist come into contact with her. The warm crimson spilled down her face and onto the bed sheets. Another stain to clot and dry on them.

"Don't look at me!" the man yelled. His voice high pitched, the desperation in his voice present. It was then he saw the blood pour down her face, the blood was on his fist, on the bed. "Shit, I'm sorry. Wait there. I'll sort this out."

He spoke fast, mumbling incoherently to himself as he stumbled out of the room and down into the unknown depths of the house. Even as she heard him make his way down some stairs she could still hear him talking out loud to himself. A loud crash sounded, the sound of things hitting the floor.

She sat alone in the room for a long time just listening. She didn't feel anything anymore, she merely listened. It occurred to her in that moment, like a wave washing over her, that she could think of all the people she had killed, she could think of any one of them at this particular moment in time without wanting to shut her mind out. She could do this and not feel anything at all for all that had happened. Her mind became black and void of any thoughts or emotions. If she concentrated hard enough she could just feel the sting between her legs and the throbbing from her nose. At this moment in time, she felt like an empty shell. There was no person inside of her body.

She lay still imagining herself disappear only to leave this stain filled bed. There was nothing left of her to make her want to keep going on. She pictured the families of her victims upset. She pictures their screaming faces. She pictured their funerals. Nothing. Not one thought came to mind. No guilt. No satisfaction. Nothing. She tried to make herself think about the satisfaction she got from feeling the surge of power running through her veins, the overwhelming power that grew within her. Knowing that she could play God. She could decide whether they were to live or die. That great fascination that she had once felt that she had all this power within her. She thought of all of those feelings she once had.

She felt nothing.

She looked at the window above her, just being able to make out the few clouds in the blue sky. She felt the rays of the sun shine down on her and warming her body, but she felt no comfort in it. She knew that the horrible realisation would hit her again soon, but for now she felt completely numb. Perhaps it was because of the beautiful view of the sky, the lightened up room, the young face of the strange man still fumbling around somewhere inside the house, that made her feel so numb. This all felt so surreal. All of it. She shouldn't be here. Something inside of her felt very wrong that it made all of her previous fears and guilt melt away, and she couldn't put her finger on it.

As she looked out to the sky she thought of the only other thing that came to mind. She hadn't been honest with herself, there was still one thing she was holding back, still something that she could feel if she let herself think. She had purposefully not thought about Squall. For everything that she had put him through, everything she was probably going to put him through, she didn't want to think about him. She didn't deserve him. Letting a sigh escape her lips she said his name in her mind. Squall. And then came the feelings again. They came in a sudden rush that she didn't even register the door swing open once more. She didn't care about this idiot though. She cared about Squall. Let him see her cry, she didn't care. _I__'__m so sorry Squall, _she thought in her mind, hoping somehow, somewhere that thought would reach him.

"Hey," the man said coming towards her, a tray full of food and water in his hands. He placed it down on the floor before turning back to the crying girl on the bed. "Please don't cry. I'll get you out of this room, I promise."

She looked at the man almost confused for a moment. Had someone come to rescue her and she hadn't even noticed? But to her disappointment it was the same person. She lay helpless as he took out a knife and began cutting the ropes that had bond her to the bed. She felt a great release as the pressure of the rope on her wrists were released. Pulling her hands down towards her body, she grimaced as she saw the red and bloody marks that had been left from the ropes.

A glass of water was held out before her, it seemed like a godsend after all this time without drinking. Eagerly she tired to pull herself up to reach out for it, but soon fell back down on the bed in exhaustion. Strong arms held her body up, as the man put the glass up to her lips. The first few sips hurt to swallow, but they felt heavenly all the same. She gulped the entire contents down, already feeling her energy slightly coming back to her. It only occurred to her when he began wiping away the blood from her face with a wet cloth, that this man was treating her with care. He had been the one that had hurt her, hadn't he? She looked at him suspiciously as he tentatively wrapped her wrists in bandages, gave her a clean sheet to cover her half naked body with and finally hand her a plateful of food.

"I know this might not make sense to you right now," he said, feeling her gaze upon him. "But I'm sorry for what I did to you, I really am."

"You _raped _me," she spoke, suddenly enraged by the way the man was talking to her. "How does sorry make anything better?"

The man looked at her knowingly. "I don't know," he spoke honestly. "Maybe I should ask you how to repent myself. Tell me, Rinoa, how will you make up for the wrongs you've done? You know anything else we could say to the people we've wronged? The people we hurt. Somehow sorry seems to be the most pathetic word I could say, but it's the only thing I can say. How about you?"

She thought for a moment at his words. In an odd sense, she guessed that he was the same as her. And he was right, there was nothing he could say to make any of this any better. Just like there was nothing she could say to make everything better after all that she had done. Her guilt had become laced to the back of her mind making her completely numb for the meantime, but when it came back, what would happen then? Would she ever be able to get rid of the guilt? The thought suddenly occurred to her for the first time, that her life would never be the same again. She would never be able to return back to the carefree girl she had once been. She would never get her innocence back.

"You don't have to answer that now," the man said, watching her closely. She remembered from the nights when he had come to her, he had the strong stench of sweat and alcohol on his breath. Today however, he seemed clean and nicely groomed. He was freshly shaven, with the faint fragrance of spice she could smell on him. Somehow he didn't seem the young boy she had first seen earlier. He seemed a lot more complex than that now.

"Who are you?" she asked, suddenly realising that he had spoke her name. He had known what terrible things she had done. Had he been waiting for her to escape? She couldn't recall meeting him before waking up in this strange house. "How am I here? I should still be in Esthar, and now I'm…" she paused, where exactly was she anyway?

The man gave a small smile. "My name is Miko," he said. "And you don't have to worry about anything else just yet. Can I trust you not to try and escape if I leave you untied? There are a lot of people looking for you. At the moment, I think you know deep inside that this is the safest place you can be. No ones going to try and kill you while you're here. Understand?"

She nodded her head slowly. Odd how after spending the last few days tied to a bed and being abused so many times she didn't dare count, she genuinely felt safe here. Maybe not the safest she had felt in her life, but for now, this was the best place she could be. For now. "I wouldn't know where to run to, anyway," she replied, all the time picturing Squall's face in her mind. What would he do if she ran to him? Would he protect her and stay with her like he said he would? Or would he turn her in, or even worse, kill her himself?

She watched as Miko stood from the bed. "You'll need all the energy you can get, so make sure you eat. There's a bathroom down the hallway so you can wash and I've put some clothes in there for you. After that we can talk, I'll tell you everything I know, and maybe things will start to fall into place for you."

Rinoa nodded slowly, thinking about everything that had happened in her life the last seven months. She wondered how long Miko had known about her. She wondered what this was all about. But most of all she still couldn't fight that bad feeling she had inside of her. That maybe this was only the beginning of what was to come. She really hoped she was wrong.

* * *

The blue sky above them held a warm and uplifting feeling, walking through the beautiful green scenery. Making their way down the path which led to the town, there was a more content feeling in their air. Something which hadn't been felt in a long time. Although deep down there was that familiar worry, that same dread and fear that they had carried around them for so long. But for now, the day was beautiful and warm. And at that moment in time, it was something as simple as this day that was a welcome distraction from what was to become of the future. 

The cowboy made his way through the green fields, weapon held firmly in one hand just in case any monster were to attack, but most importantly to protect him from what they might have to face. Behind him, he heard the chatter of the blonde martial artist as he walked beside the red haired Sorceress. He couldn't held a small smile forming on his lips as he observed Zell. _Was he flirting with her? _The spiky blonde would so never forget this as soon as this afternoon was over. He almost cringed at how embarrassing it was to hear him try to sound interesting. It amazed him how even after all these years, and how the world was turning into a darker place, some things would always stay the same. He hoped that Zell would never change. He hoped he would always be the dorky blonde he was today.

"Have you ever been to Balamb?" Zell asked as they approached the town. He inhaled the familiar salty smells of the ocean that he had grown so fond of. This was his home. This was the place where he belonged.

"I don't think so," Eve said pausing to think for a moment, before giving a small smile. "I guess I never really travelled much until recently."

Zell looked shocked. "You've got to look around Balamb. My Ma lives here in that house there, do you see?" he said pointing to a house as they made their way across the cobbled streets.

Eve nodded her head. "It's a pretty house."

"That's Ma. She's house proud. Took care of me a lot to make sure I wasn't a mess when I was a kid too," he said proudly.

"She still takes care of you now when you get in a mess," Irvine interrupted. He turned to Eve, with a smile forming on his lips. "You should see Zell after he's got all excited over eating hotdogs. Not a pretty sight."

Eve let out a small laugh, "Ah, so you're the one who takes all the hotdogs everyone seems so fond of. I've heard about the hotdogs many times since I came to Garden just this morning. Apparently its sometimes hard to even see a hotdog they sell that fast. And I thought people in the military would have eaten more healthy."

"Everyone needs a guilty pleasure to keep them going," Zell defended.

"True," she agreed before coming to a stop as she saw two men in the distance. "There they are," she said, pointing out the two men.

The two SeeD's observed the men Eve had pointed out. "You sure that's the Peace Makers?" Zell asked.

"Of course, they have the black band on their arm."

"Let's go have our little chat with them then. You sure your ready, Eve? Anything bad happens make sure you get yourself to safety." Irvine looked back at Eve who nodded silently. He watched as the two men spoke to each other for a moment, then one turned in the other direction making his way towards the hotel. At this Irvine gestured to Zell, who made his way towards the lone man.

The man was of average height and middle aged. He certainly didn't look dangerous, but then, neither had any of the Peace Makers back in Trabia. And look what they had achieved. People were dead because of them.

"Hey you," Zell shouted from behind the man. He didn't have chance to see who the voice belonged to before he felt a pain at the back of his head, and he fell to the ground in darkness. Proud of his work, Zell pulled the mans body towards a quiet alleyway.

"How'd I do?" he said fists punching the air as Irvine and Eve approached him.

"Very text book SeeD work there," Irvine said sarcastically. "You'd make a good criminal. Maybe you should steal his wallet too."

"One step ahead of you," Zell beamed, his comment causing Irvine's face to drop. "Hey man, I'm kidding!"

Irvine shook his head, stepping forward to lean over the unconscious man. "You know how long he's going to be like this for, wise ass?"

Zell studied the man a moment, before shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know," he said curtly. "Couple of hours."

Irvine let out an exasperated sigh, "You've spent far too much time as an Instructor. It makes me dread to think what your students are going to be like."

"You wanted him stopped didn't you?" Zell responded. "Or would you rather him pull out a gun and shoot one of us?"

Ignoring Zell's comments, Irvine tapped the man lightly trying to wake him. When he got no response from the man, he tapped him harder causing the man to stir slightly. "Hey sleepy," Irvine said shaking the man slightly. "Hey… Wake up dammit!"

The mans eyes opened slowly as he looked around him disorientated. He observed the cowboy in front of him. "Who are you?"

"We're SeeD's from Balamb," he said with a smile, knowing full well that this would not make the man happy.

For a moment the man looked confused and dazed, before his eyes widened and he picked himself off the ground quickly, anger rising in his face. His movement was ceased when a gun was placed against his head. He could feel the cold hard metal of it between his eyes.

"Sit," the cowboy said simply, and the man obeyed.

It was then that the man saw the slightly familiar red headed girl stood quietly behind them. It had been the first time he had noticed her there since he had awoken. He looked confused at her, then his gaze turned to shock as he realised who she was. "You're Ed's…"

"I know," she said cutting him off as she came and sat on the ground next to him. "I'm his daughter. Can you tell me your name please?"

The man looked from the two SeeD's to the girl beside him. He didn't speak.

"Don't worry about them, they're not going to hurt you if you do what they want. We only want to talk to you. I promise that's all we want, and after that you can go free. Can you tell me your name so I know who I'm talking to?"

The man remained silent a moment, before giving in and turning his attention fully on her. "My name is James," he said.

"Hi James," Eve said with a warm smile. "I know this doesn't make sense to you, but I just need to ask you some questions. I only want to know about my father. I'm worried about him."

"If you're worried about your father, go speak to him," James spoke, his words more harsh.

"He hasn't spoken to me in a long time. I want to help you people, I don't want you to be misguided. You have to understand my father isn't exactly himself at the moment, and I want to know how bad he's got since I last saw him. I want to know what he's planning to do next."

"You're father is a great man," he spoke. "You'll see what he's planning soon enough."

"Is that why there are so many of you all over the world at the moment? You're all part of one of his big plans, aren't you?"

A smile formed on James' lips as he spoke. "Another demonstration is coming." He looked towards the SeeD's, pure disgust on his face. "Trabia was just a test run, soon that will all be forgotten with what is to come. And there's nothing any of you can do about it."

The gun pressed onto his head harder, pressing his head against the wall. He felt the roughness of the cold bricks against his scalp. This only made him smile harder, it almost made him feel privileged to be the bearer of such news.

"You care to elaborate on your little demonstration?" Irvine asked.

"It's hardly what I'd call _little._" Again, the mans smile widened. "I'd like to see how you can be everywhere at once. You can't protect everyone."

"What do you mean?" Eve asked.

"The same time. Everywhere. That is where our next demonstration will be. People will know who we are, and people will support us if they know what's best for them."

"When will this be?" Zell asked, now enraged by the mans words. He hated seeing the smile on his face. How could anyone be happy because of something like that?

"When Ed decides. We're staying put until then. But soon it'll be chaos everywhere."

"Why is my father doing this?" Eve spoke, looking worried. "Is it the Sorceress you took? Is she misguiding all of you?"

"There is no Sorceress," the man said looking slightly confused at her words. "And you should know why we're doing this."

Zell crossed his arms as he looked smugly at the Peace Maker. "You should keep regular contact with your leader. We know it was one of you who helped to set Rinoa free. They've already admitted to it. Or has your leader been keeping things from you?"

"It doesn't matter about any of that," the man growled in anger. "We're set to shut down all of SeeD and the armies. All you do is walk around and fight your leader's wars, except you can't even do that most of the time. Its us civilians who get hurt. We're the ones who suffer as our homes collapse, not you. Your just machines. Your not part of the real world."

"So that's what your trying to achieve?" Irvine said, taking James' words in. "You want to create a more peaceful life, when your using violence yourself. Look at yourself. Your people killed civilians back in Trabia. People that weren't even a part of SeeD. And you call us the killers? We tried our hardest to save those people."

"It was a sacrifice that needed to be made for the greater good," he stated. "We need people to see what you are. We need you to disappear so we can make a better life to live in."

"You disgust me. Don't you understand there's always going to be wars? Hyne, you yourself are going to create new ones by doing what your doing. A worldwide demonstration of chaos isn't going to solve anything." Irvine lowered the gun from the man's head, angered by the Peace Makers. They were worse than he thought. "Sleep," he spoke as he cast the spell upon the man before he could become a danger.

"I'm sorry for what was father is doing," Eve said. She couldn't help feeling that this was somehow all her fault. If only she never came into his life, maybe none of this would have happened.

"It's not your fault," Zell said helping Eve up from her sitting position on the floor. "We should get back to Garden."

"Is it hard seeing what he's doing?" Zell asked after a long moment of silent walking on the way back to the Garden. He hated silence, especially at times like these when there was so much to discuss, but everyone went off into their own little world of doubt and worry. He really hated those sorts of silences.

Eve turned to him after a moments thought, "I guess so," she spoke. "I'm always worrying about what he's going to do next. How far he's going to go. I guess this time he's crossed the line well and truly."

"You shouldn't blame yourself," Irvine spoke up. "Got to stay positive in these situations, that's what Selphie would say." The thought of her made him feel slightly better. He hated when times got too serious. It made him yearn for the walk to go quicker so he could see her spunky face. So she could help him feel happy and normal again.

For a moment it seemed like no one was about to speak, before the silence was broken again. "Is it hard for you as well?" Eve spoke up. "Seeing what happened to Rinoa."

The two men looked away, suddenly looking uncomfortable and not sure how to form the words that had laid silent in the back of their minds for months.

"We don't really talk about it at all," Irvine spoke, feeling guilty saying the words out loud. "It sounds bad, but we try our hardest not to talk about her. Its just a lot easier that way."

"I'm sorry," Eve said, quickly realising that she had crossed a line. "I didn't mean to make you feel awkward."

"It's not like that," Zell spoke up. "We all miss her really badly. We'd do anything to get her back if there were anything we could do. But I guess we all realise we're never going to get anywhere if we sit worrying and feeling down about it. I guess we find it easier if we try to pretend its just a normal SeeD mission."

"That's the unspoken rule anyway," Irvine smiled. "When the time comes, I'm not sure it'll quite work out that way."

Eve nodded her head in understanding. "Nothing ever does I guess," she said softly.

The walk back to Garden was quiet, but a silent relief to each as they made their way back inside the safe walls of the building. The two SeeD's made their way up to Cid's office to brief him on the outcome of their small mission, which left Eve alone to walk the halls of Balamb Garden.

She thought back to the day, the horrible idea of what was to come in the world over the next few days. It could even be in a few hours, the Peace Makers themselves didn't even know when the demonstration was to come. Maybe Ed didn't even know himself. That was likely. He was probably sat waiting, until someone or something pushed him over the edge. The button to destroy the world was right in front of him, he probably just needed the courage to press it.

She stopped in her tracks as she heard sounds of footsteps behind her. She realised the footsteps had been closing in on her for quite a while now, until they where right up behind her, she could sense the person behind her. Eve stopped in her tracks, and just as she expected, the footsteps behind her also stopped. She could faintly hear the sound of breathing from the person behind her. Feel their warmth coming from their body even though the person was still a few yards behind her.

The red haired girl stayed still, waiting for the mysterious person to call out to her. But they didn't. They remained silent, with the gentle rhythm of their breathing from behind her. There were no footsteps, so she knew they hadn't moved an inch since she had stopped walking. She wondered if she walked, they would walk again too. But she didn't take that risk, not wanting to play games with this mysterious person.

Eve turned around to face the person who had been following her. She didn't really know who she had expected to be behind her, yet somehow she wasn't surprised when she saw his weary face. She smiled, as she looked at the blonde man.

"Hello again, Seifer."

Authors note: I could have wrote another two or three thousand words for this chapter, but I think it is long enough as it is, so I'm kind of splitting it in two chapters. Sorry if it sucks and the characters are all weird. I tried to make this chapter less… unhappy. But I somehow always end up making my characters messed up. Don't hate me!


	19. Chapter Nineteen Miko Talks

The Path Of Time

Chapter Nineteen

_When you've done something that you can't take back, something that you don't understand, you start to hold tightly to the things you do understand, and you try to make sense out of everything you can. As if you believed that all you had to do to make things right was find a reason, but what happens when you find the reasons and they are not your own? How do you find any sense or any comfort in that?_

**Allie Keys _Steven Spielberg's 'Taken'_**

"Hello again, Seifer."

Her words were soft, that same angelic tone he had tried to forget. It was the voice of a Sorceress, and the thought made him shudder inside. He stared at her for a long moment as she stood patiently waiting for him to speak. She looked different since he had last seen her, her hair was a little longer, she looked a lot older than she had looked back when she approached him on that far away day in Dollet. How long had it been since he had seen her? Perhaps it had been a year, maybe more. He wasn't exactly sure. It didn't matter. A Sorceress had come into his life and he hadn't even known it. She'd been roaming around openly now for a month. What had she wanted from him? What was the purpose of her talking to him next to the fountain that day in Dollet? She seemed so innocent, so young back then. However now she looked different, he knew that his mind was purely making her look different but she looked like a… Sorceress.

He pulled his arms over his chest, realising that if he didn't speak first she would think he was some sort of fool. He had been following her, had been waiting for her to return to Balamb Garden and now he had finally found her, was he just going to stand here like an idiot? Or was he going to demand answers and move on like he had told himself to do? He looked at her suspiciously, not liking the gentle look on her features. There was so much that didn't make sense about her in his mind. Why didn't anyone else see this?

"What are you doing here?" Seifer finally spoke. A thought came to him that maybe she had known he was coming to see her. Maybe she had known he would be drawn to her, maybe she needed him for something. He shook the thoughts away as he looked at her, letting the anger build up within him. He preferred feeling anger; it was a much better emotion than fear. At least when he was angry he knew he could fight out in defence, fear just made him feel weak and vulnerable and he hated that feeling.

Eve studied him a moment, finding the right words to say. It was a simple enough answer, but somehow she knew she'd have to make herself more clear to Seifer. She could sense his unease, which made her feel slightly on edge, even though she had nothing to hide. She decided that she would be honest with Seifer. "I'm here because I don't want Rinoa to get hurt," she replied.

Seifer shook his head. "You've constantly been by President Deling's side for the past few weeks. And now what? You leave him and expect everyone to believe that you're purely doing it out of the kindness of your heart? I'm sure the President was perfectly happy for you to come here. You must have been something special for him, a _president_, to take you in. Why did you suddenly break away?"

"Your completely right, Seifer," she said softly. "I'm not what everyone thinks I am. I know you're confused about me, and I'm sorry I never told you I was a Sorceress."

"You don't know anything!" Seifer spat out, watching her features. He didn't like how calm she was. He didn't like that at all. Somehow a part of him expected her to be like in the cartoons. She'd pull off her mask and show everyone what a monster she really was. Except he knew life wasn't like that. It never was. It would be simple if she did that, because it'd give him a reason to stay away from her. But he knew deep down that she wasn't a monster at all. He was just a confused and vulnerable person who needed answers. He needed answers desperately. Seifer scorned himself. Fujin was right, he had gone soft, and he hated it.

Eve let out a sigh, and looked at him sympathetically. "Here's the truth for you Seifer, and if it makes me a bad person, then I guess that is the consequences I will have to face. But you have to understand I did this for the greater cause. I _needed _to do this." She looked at him, receiving a small nod signalling her to continue. "I'm sure you know I cured all of the injured soldiers from the base camp that was destroyed by Rinoa. I didn't exactly do that out of the goodness of my heart. To be honest I hate the Galbadian soldiers. They killed my mother. They've made my father insane. But I did it because I knew that something like that would get the Presidents attention. He'd have to pay attention to hundreds of his people being healed."

"And why would you do a thing like that?" Seifer asked.

"Because I needed the publicity. No one trusts the Deling family that much, and I knew he'd need someone to make him seem a better man. Someone like me, who just wants people to stop being afraid of Sorceress'. To stop all the violence and the hatred towards them. I wanted to change the opinion of people and so people could finally live in peace. I guess it was like a business arrangement. I know it wasn't the right way to go about it; yes I did use the President. But he only got me so far, I broke away for two reasons. I needed to reach out to the people, and you can't do that being by the side of the military all the time."

"And the other reason?"

"Because of the President, I heard about Rinoa. He spoke about her openly in front of me, what he plans to do with her. How he plans to achieve this. He wants to kill her in cold blood, and I can't stand that thought. I know Balamb accepted and took care of Rinoa; everyone here speaks highly of her. Which is why I came here, I want Balamb to get ahead of the race. I _need _Balamb to be the ones who save Rinoa. It's a common mystery at the moment; is Rinoa possessed or isn't she? You're all not going to find out if Galbadia gets there first. They don't care about the facts, as soon as they get their hands on her she's going to be dead. Tell me Seifer, am I a bad person?"

Seifer though for a moment about everything she had just said. He guessed she had reason for doing what she was doing, but still he didn't like the idea of it. "No, I guess not," he said.

"There's something else you want to ask me," Eve spoke. It wasn't a question; she knew there was something else.

The blonde stayed silent a moment, not liking the fact that he could be read so easily. "Why was you so nice to me back then?" he spoke up after a moment's silence. "Why do you Sorceress' always come to me with your promises of a better life? It's always me. Why me?"

"Being a Sorceress had nothing to do with it. Every Sorceress is different, my powers allow me to sense peoples emotions, and from you something made me go to you. Your right, I guess it was the Sorceress part of me that made me drawn to you, I could sense what another of my kind had done to you. I'd heard about it the day you showed up in Dollet, but more than anything I could _feel _it. That great sense of grief and loss." The red haired girl dared herself to take a step closer to Seifer, hoping that he wouldn't back away from her. She was relieved to find he stayed put. He didn't look her in the eye, but he didn't run away either, and that was all she wanted. "I came to you because regardless of what everyone knew you had done, I could see that you were a good guy underneath. When I last met you, you were a lost man, not really sure where you belonged anymore. I just wanted to show you that there was still morality left in the world. After carrying all that weight around for so long and being alone day in and day out because people were afraid to speak to you, I just wanted you to see that no matter how bad things are eventually there's always someone to pull you out of the dark."

He looked at her then, a sarcastic and disbelieving look on his features. "Well that was nice of you, I'm sure you really got a sense of pride from that. I'm not a lost puppy."

Eve nodded, ignoring his harsh words. "You're back home aren't you? And that great baggage you were once carrying doesn't seem to be weighing you down that much. You're right, Seifer, you're not a lost puppy. Not anymore."

"Why do you act so perfect and do things like that for people?" Seifer questioned. "Your not a saint. Why do that?"

Eve shrugged, "Why does anyone do what they do? I'm not here to justify my actions to you Seifer; I doubt you'll understand anyway. You were born a soldier, born to follow orders. I guess it's foreign for you seeing someone doing something without orders."

"I'm not a solider," he responded bluntly.

"Prove me wrong if you wish," she responded. He watched as she looked down at the floor, showing signs of awkwardness for the first time. "I'm leaving tonight, Seifer. Can you tell the Headmaster and everyone for me?"

"Why the big hurry? You should say goodbye to them yourselves," he said, watching her closely. It suddenly dawned on him that he felt like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Here he was talking to a Sorceress, and there wasn't even a doubt in his mind about himself. He knew if she turned to him now and asked him to join her, he would say no. He knew the track he was on now, and no Sorceress was a part of it. No matter how much they tried to manipulate him.

"Please just tell them for me, I don't like saying goodbye to people when I know that all of our paths will cross again sometime soon," she explained. "I'm going to find Rinoa too, you know? But I'm not relying on any form of military anymore. I guess I've learnt from being at Garden today and with the President that none of this is the life I like. It's just not my style."

Seifer nodded his head in thought. "Until we meet again then," He turned around then, making his way back down the halls of Garden now feeling more content in his mind. He left Eve standing alone, until she would eventually disappear from Garden.

* * *

It was a surreal feeling. It was as if she were dreaming, as if she was not quite there. It was as if she were someone else, some everyday person who still really believed that the murders and the terror they read in the newspapers only happened to _other _people. Unfortunate people. It seemed entirely impossible to her right now that she was probably one of the faces in the newspapers. She was one of the murderers that had killed so many. And people would see her face, read her name and think that things like that only happened to unfortunate people. It never happened in real life.

She closed her eyes, letting herself lower into the warm water to just below her nose so she could still breathe. A part of her wanted to put her whole head in the water, to just stay there until she ran out of breath and suffer as the water filled her choked lungs. Luckily a larger part of her needed answers. And an even bigger part of her had numbed completely so she didn't even feel the anguish anymore. She didn't feel the guilt. It had made everything feel so much more surreal since she had stepped into the bathroom and started the taps running the water. The water was hot and soothing as it washed away the dirt from her body. She felt cleansed. As if everything were washing away from her. If only the past could be washed away so easily. It felt so odd. She was in a strange house, having a relaxing bath, when only days ago she had been a criminal locked away. Weeks ago she had been on a killing rampage. Surely that had not been her. Perhaps it was a bad dream, or a report in the newspaper. Other Sorceress' went corrupt over time, _not her. _She remembered years ago thinking about the notion of her turning as bad as the Sorceress she had once fought against. Ultimecia. She had laughed out loud at the concept of her turning into such a being, they had all laughed. But now the joke was on her. Fate had a cruel way of proving her wrong.

Holding her breath, she took the chance of trusting herself to put her head under the water. Trying to block out her thoughts, as if the water were a barrier to the reality of everything. She _was _the murderer. She _was _the big bad Sorceress that had to be defeated. This was no dream. A small bubble of air left her lips and made its way to the surface. What had happened to her? How had she become that bad a person? She certainly still _felt _the same person she had been. She thought back to when things started to go wrong, to when she had left, but couldn't remember for the life of her what the turning point was. Was there even a turning point? Did a man wake up one morning and decide that he's going be a serial killer? These things always manifested over time, didn't they. Something happened to make the red mist come in a sudden angry rage. But she hadn't remembered being an angry person. Ever. That just wasn't who she was… so who had she become? How had she become this person?

Sitting up, she took a deep breath of air as she rose out of the water, taking a moment to catch her breath. She stepped out of the bath and caught her reflection in the mirror as she wrapped a towel around herself. It seemed strange to think, but she hadn't looked at herself in a mirror for a long time. Thinking about it, she had avoided looking into reflective surfaces for the last few months. So she gathered that maybe she had registered something bad happening to her after all, even if it was subconscious. She looked at herself now in the mirror, feeling the need to lean her weight on the sink. The girl staring back at herself was the same person she remembered herself to be, she looked a bit rough now she mused, but she was the same old person. Except maybe there was that odd feeling within her when she stared closer at herself. Her eyes looked wide and bloodshot. She looked pale and unhealthy. Staring at herself closely, she looked a mess; she didn't look the stable girl she had once been. The girl staring back at her looked as if… as if maybe she could murder someone. She looked as though she held a lot of blood on her hands.

Bile rose to her throat, as the reality set in. She leaned her head over the sink as the sour taste of vomit escaped her lips. She kept her head hung over the sink for a long time, not wanting to face herself again. She didn't like the person she had become. She didn't like the idea of not knowing when and why she had become the person she had become. Why had she? She twisted one of the taps and watched as the brown liquid was washed away down the plug hole. She cupped the water in her hands and splashed her face with it, trying to bring herself together. She was stronger than this. She was a lot stronger than this.

With a sudden jolt, she forced herself to stare back at her reflection. It felt as if she were looking into another world. The girl in the reflection seemed so familiar yet a complete stranger at the same time. How could one live a normal life, stand along side the greatest friends and the greatest lover she could ever have, and someday just… snap. It was all so unreal. Who the hell was she nowadays anyway?

"I'm Rinoa," she spoke out loud, her voice sounded loud in the small bathroom but in reality she said it barely above a whisper. "I'm Rinoa Heartilly, daughter of General Caraway. I used to be a nice person, and did normal things. Now I'm not so nice. I'm not such a nice person to be around anymore… and I don't know how or why."

She laughed then. It wasn't a humorous laugh, what she really wanted to do at that moment was burst into tears in a corner and keep herself in solitude away from the world just like in Esthar when Squall had been there. But she couldn't do that. She simply laughed. It was strange; she had once been mute, not allowing herself to talk to anyone. If Squall came to her now, would she be able to go back to the wreck she had been only a few days ago. She didn't think so. In some odd sort of way, she felt like she could be with him, to go on as if nothing had happened at all. Did that make her a bad person? She wasn't sure at all.

On the floor there were some clothes that had been laid out for her. She took the clothes in her hands, studying them for a moment before putting them on. It was a white summer dress that flowed delicately over her body and came to a stop just above her knees. For the first time in a long time, she saw herself as a woman and not a monster. She crossed her arms over her body uncomfortably; this dress was too pretty for her. It made her look too innocent. This dress was for someone who had not killed. This dress was for some girl somewhere who still looked to the stars in hopes of her dreams coming true.

"I'm certainly not that girl," she said sadly to the empty bathroom. "Not anymore." Turning around she found herself staring at the door which led out into the rest of the house. She took a few steps forward until she reached the door, placing her hand on the cool metal of the handle. She froze. A part of her wanted to run down through the house and find the man who seemed to know a lot more about everything than she did. She wanted to scream in his face, to make him tell her everything that was going on, what had happened to her. A part of her wanted to simply leave the house quietly and run away. And a smaller part of her wanted to stay here within the small walls of the bathroom where she was alone and away from the rest of the world. She was afraid of what Miko was going to say and do to her next. And she was even more afraid of what the rest of the world would do to her. What would happen if she roamed the streets now? How long would it take before people would turn her in? How long would it take before she was killed?

She shivered at the thoughts that entered her mind. With all the courage she could summon, the raven haired girl found herself twisting the door handle and exposing the hall of the house. She stepped outside and slowly made her way through the hallway, her bare feet making light shuffling sounds on the carpet as she tried to be as silent as possible. It was only when she found herself looking through the open doorway where she had spent the last few days tied to the bed, did she realise that she had been holding her breath the entire time. She looked in fascination at the stained sheets on the bed. The wallpaper was old and aged with fading parts from the sunlight, and in some areas it hung loosely against the wall. A lamp on a dusty bedside table lay on its side. It seemed as if the whole room had been tortured and stripped of all humanity.

She turned her head in shame at the sight of the room, not wanting to think about any of this any further. None of it made sense. Her feet seemed to take charge of her body as once more she began to walk and made her way down the stairs. She found herself looking around the rest of the house in awe. It hardly seemed the same place compared to the upstairs room which she had been kept in. The stairs led down to a clean dining area with cream sofas and a coffee table in the middle of the room. There was another doorway in the room which she realised led into a kitchen area as she spotted a few cupboards through the slightly open door. The television against the wall of the dining area let out a mans voice from a documentary, and sat watching the program on one of the sofas sat Miko. The young man looked engrossed in the program, if he acknowledged Rinoa entering the room she didn't see it. He wore a blank expression, his eyes fixed firmly on the screen of the television.

She stood there for a long time, just behind the sofa not really sure what to do or say. That same hazy surreal feeling clouded her vision again as she saw this was all so normal. She had never expected to be in a house with the television on, especially not after what she had done. She should be in a prison cell somewhere, or even worse, dead. Not this.

"You can sit down you know," a voice called out. She realised Miko had finally stirred from the television and was now looking at her expectantly. She obeyed his voice and sat on one of the sofas opposite him and waited as he turned the television on to mute. He turned to her then with a soft look in his eyes, nothing like the rapist she had once seen. Now he looked like a normal person. "Has there been anymore bleeding?" he said.

She shook her head, wondering why he of all people would ask such an odd question. The bleeding between her legs after each visit from him had ceased, as if her body had become immune to the torment. She watched as a look of relief spread over his face, and she found herself once again feeling that same odd feeling. None of this could surely be happening. He had raped her, and now he was caring about her well being.

"What is this all about?" she heard herself saying. She felt disconnected, it was like she was looking through a window and seeing herself. "Why am I here?"

Miko stayed silent for a moment, sitting forward with his arms rested on his legs. "Can I trust you not to try and run away with what I'm going to say?" He looked at Rinoa then, and there was nothing but seriousness in his face.

"I-I don't know," Rinoa responded, not liking the look on his face. Was it so bad that she'd try to run away? Was he planning something far worse than simply raping her? Was he going to kill her..? Hundreds of thoughts came into her mind all at once, she could only stare at him with her mouth slightly agape but no words escaping her lips. She didn't know what the outcome of this would be. She didn't know how she would react to it. "I don't know," she repeated, this time more firmly.

Miko nodded his head before standing from the sofa and kneeling in front of Rinoa. He grabbed her hand and looked at her with wide and somehow innocent eyes. "I've known about you for a long time, Rinoa. I've been waiting for the chance to call out to you, for you to come to me, and you finally did." He smiled then, a wild smile that was full of happiness.

"What do you mean?" Rinoa asked. "I didn't come to you."

The man before her looked hurt. "You didn't hear me calling for you when you were locked away in Esthar? I was right outside, Rinoa. I was waiting for you nearby and called out to you. I was the one who helped you escape. I was the one who helped protect you when the Galbadian Army were going to collect you. I've been there from the beginning, I've seen what you can do. I know the amazing feeling you had within you when you first realised the true potential of your powers, and your first victim was a young girl. You saw into her future, and you punished her for what she would become. You're so strong, Rinoa. Why must you feel so guilty after all you've done? You have amazing powers."

Warm tears spilled down her cheeks as she looked at him. He had made her escape? The people she'd killed, he'd made her do all that? Somehow that didn't make her feel any better at all. "You made me hurt so many people," she cried, anger suddenly building up within her as she launched herself at him. She suddenly hated every part of this man. All that had happened within the last six months. "You bloody bastard," she yelled.

The young man let out a cry of pain as her nails dug into his cheek and he felt the warm blood run down his face. He struggled to hold her back as she threw herself at him, hitting him with as much force as her weak body could give. He suddenly wished he had tied her up. "Hey, it's not what you think," he said. Pushing her back against the sofa and pinning her against it with all his force. "I'm not the one who made you kill all of them people. I've helped you three times, Rinoa. That's nothing to the lives you've ended."

She looked at him through watery eyes as she cried once more. "Who are you?" she said through her tears. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because I need you," he said as he smiled that same wild smile like this was all part of his great scheme. "I'm a Sorcerer, Rinoa. A _Sorcerer. _Hyne gave half of his body to a woman, not a man. I've never known of another male with powers such as mine. Can you imagine how strong we can be together?"

"I don't want to be strong anymore," Rinoa whispered. "I don't want to be another Adel or Ultimecia."

"But you don't have to be," Miko said, his voice filled with enthusiasm. "We can make something big here. Something that hasn't been tainted by the ways of the world. There's still humanity left in us."

Rinoa thought about this for a moment, she thought about the people she had killed. She thought about Miko raping her and praising her for what she had done. She almost laughed out loud at the thought of his words. "I'm not sure we still have humanity," she spoke, surprising herself how calm she sounded on the outside. Inside she felt very afraid. She felt more afraid than she had done in a long time. Again that bad feeling swept over her like a wave. Something was very wrong here.

She watched as he slowly sat down beside her and placed an arm around her shoulders. Every ounce of her body screamed at herself to pull away, but she found herself leaning her head against his shoulder. She found herself finding comfort in his embrace. Her eyes were wide in fear and shock, confusion and anger. But somehow there was a strange comfort from this man.

"I'm sorry you've been brought into all of this," he spoke, sounding once again like the caring man. The normal man. He tilted his head so he could look down at her face. "I know that its no consolation, but if there's anything I can do for you, anything I can bring you to make you feel slightly better I will try my best to get you it."

She turned to him feeling slightly confused at his words. What on earth could he possibly get her that would make any of this better? There was still so many questions she wanted to ask. There was still so many things he needed to explain, and things that didn't make sense. How could anything make any of this better? But then, there was something she wanted desperately. Something she really wanted, but would never allow herself to have. She lowered her head in shame at the thought. No, she couldn't have that.

"I can get him for you if you want," the strange man spoke from above her, his chin resting on her head. She pulled away from him suddenly, looking at him in shock. "You do want to see him sometime, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter," she said, not wanting to think about it anymore. If he was coming to her, it would be to kill her. It was better she didn't see him. She didn't want to see the look on his face. What if he looked afraid of her? She would never be able to live with herself if she saw the look of fear in his eye at seeing her. She shuddered at the thought, before turning back to Miko and decided to talk about anything but Squall.

"Did you possess me?" she asked. Miko gave her a confused glance at her sudden question. "You said you helped me three times. I don't recall ever knowing you until being here. But then, I've been possessed before, I know what it felt like to have another being control your mind. I don't recall feeling that either. How did you 'help' me, if you evidently didn't do either? How did you make me kill those soldiers in Esthar?"

Miko thought for a moment, before turning back to her. "It's not as simple as possession," he stated. "I managed to link with your mind, allowing me to get inside. Put thoughts into your head. In someway I could control you, like I allowed your powers to grow at a faster rate. All Sorceress' powers grow over time as they learn to control them, but I needed you to be strong fast. I couldn't waste time waiting for you to learn your powers, so I made a link in your mind and… unlocked them."

"Unlocked?"

"I guess that's the best way to describe it," Miko stated. "But the results of this were the powers being stronger than you could handle. Even though we have these powers a part of us is still human, and no human can control all that power."

"You mean," Rinoa said, her mind being drawn back to that day in Dollet where she had saw the girl playing innocently in the street. The girl she had burnt alive. Oh the power she had felt back then. "The reason why I did what I did, was because you unlocked my powers.."

"I didn't force you to kill anyone if that's what you're accusing me of," Miko said, putting his hands up in defence. "I thought you'd practise your powers on a tree or something, I didn't realise you'd take it out on humans."

Rinoa simply looked at him, grief clearly showing on her face. For a moment, a brief moment, there had been a weight lift off her shoulders. If Miko had controlled her mind, had forced her to do those things to everyone then it wouldn't have all been her fault. Of course it was always easier to blame someone else. The truth of facing up to the fact that she had done it and she had done it from her own free will was suddenly harder to face. And what he had said made so much sense. Why the hell _didn't _she practise on a tree?

"And the three times you helped me?" she forced herself to ask. It felt hard to speak, she felt like she had back in Esthar. She felt herself withdrawing back into a mute shell. Suddenly the numbness she had been feeling melted away, and the guilt wavered over her in a nauseating cloud.

"The Galbadian army base you attacked, when the Galbadian army tried to take you back, and I helped you escape from Esthar. If it makes you feel at least a little bit better, all of their blood is on my hands."

"It doesn't," she stated bluntly. It felt hard to focus on her surroundings, she wanted to just stare in to space and block everything else out. She didn't want to face up to all this again. A hand on her arm momentarily snapped her out of her trance and she found herself staring at a concerned looking Miko. She had to keep talking. She couldn't become mute again, that wouldn't help matters at all, and next time she might not be able to get out of that silent trancelike state. "Why did you unlock my powers?" she asked. "Why did you need me to be so strong?"

Miko looked at her for a moment, his face held no visible emotion. "For what is going to happen next," he said.

Rinoa suddenly felt her stomach sink, not liking the tone of his voice. The trancelike state she had previously been in now disappeared completely. "What happens next?" she dared herself to ask.

"The greatest thing that will ever happen, something that has never been achieved before," he said, placing a hand gently on her stomach and smiling a little. "You're pregnant, Rinoa."

"What?" She pushed his hand away, not liking the way he was touching her stomach. She didn't like his words at all. "What are you talking about?"

"Imagine the power that will come from two Sorcerers breeding together," he spoke with a sick excitement in his voice. "You're going to create a pure Sorceress. Its not going to create a half of Hyne, we're putting two halves together and creating something completely new. Something that won't be tainted by human blood."

"No," Rinoa said, feeling her body trembling. "No, I'm not." She backed away from the sofa, and ran. There was a doorway to the outside, she could see it. She didn't care if she got killed on the street or what other dangers lay out there for her. Nothing could be as bad a fate as _this. _That bad feeling washed over her once more, and this time she knew exactly what it was. That very bad feeling was growing inside of her, and she could already feel how wrong it was. How very wrong. This should never have happened.

She could hear the heavy breathing of the man running behind her. Her body was so weak from being tied to the bed for days, it pained her body to run the few steps to the door. She felt him behind her, she cold feel the heat from his body upon her, and again he was the rapist who had stumbled into her room stinking of alcohol and body odour. She fell to the ground as her body collapsed in exhaustion.

"Come back!" Miko shouted as he tried to grab her. She kicked him hard in the groin before crawling away from him as he too fell down to the floor in pain. She could see the door in front of her now, it was a white door, from beyond the frosted glass she could see the daylight streaming through. She could see freedom from this hell. Rinoa held her hand out against the wall and tried to pull herself up so she could make her way out of the door, but before she got chance to reach the door, she felt strong arms pull her back and drag her across the carpet and back into the room. His face loomed over her as he forced his weight on top of her, not allowing her to move under him.

The exhaustion took over Rinoa's body and she slumped on the ground no longer moving. For a brief moment the only sound in the room was their heavy breathing. She lay feeling helpless and scared. She didn't ask for any of this. She never wanted to be a Sorceress in the first place, and now she was carrying another inside of her. Another Sorceress that felt like a thorn embedded deep inside of her. She felt a warm tear run down her face and land on the carpet.

"I choose Squall," she said quietly.

Miko stirred and looked at her. "What did you say?"

"You said I could have anything, and I choose Squall," she spoke. "I really want Squall."

Authors note: Yay, new chapter. Sorrry it took me a while to write. I've had interviews and skills tests, stupidly long work hours and my birthday (whoo). But it's finally up now and hopefully has revealed rather a lot of information. In fact, it's pretty much the whole story. Just kidding, there's a few more surprises along the way, and there should only be about two more chapters left until this story is finally complete. Which is sad, but good because my head is already planning a new story. Anyway, I have rambled enough. Thank you everyone for the reviews. Hope you have a nice day!


	20. Chapter Twenty The Demonstration Part I

The Path Of Time

Chapter Twenty

_The world is made up of the big things that happen and the small ones. And the part that's so unfair is that we call them 'big' and 'small,' because when something happens to you, when you lose something or someone you really care about, that's all there is. The world may be blowing up around you, but you don't care about that. You don't care about that at all._

**Allie Keys _Steven Spielberg's 'Taken'_**

The journey seemed long and quiet as the Ragnorok made its way though the sky. The sky was bright and beautiful with not a cloud in sight. It was warm and elegant outside, certainly not the same environment that surrounded the group inside the ship. The beauty outside was far from anyone's mind. It seemed almost impossible to enjoy the morning sky with the day that waited ahead of them.

Amongst the group stood an anxious Zell. He didn't like the idea of any of this at all. Their journey to Dollet only led to uncertainty; no one knew what lay ahead of them. Their mission was a simple one: to lie in wait until something happened. They had to stay in Dollet where Ed and most other Peace Makers are. Rinoa might be with them or she might not. But either way, they had to stay still. He felt useless. There was nothing anyone could do for the mean time. The Peace Makers were dangerous, and no one knew what they were planning. No one dared guess what their next demonstration would be like. Their last being something horrifying, he didn't even want to think about what lay ahead.

The blonde shifted impatiently on his feet, feeling the need to speak out, to say something. Anything. But he wasn't sure what words he could say. Even Selphie, a girl who always looked happy and energetic no matter what the situation, now looked serious and exhausted. She looked drained of the usual excitement she brought with her. Letting out a sigh, Zell decided to finally speak up about what was going through his mind. He was tired of this. He didn't care anymore about walking on eggshells in front of Squall or trying not to say something to others in case it upset them. Maybe they needed to be upset. They needed to talk about this.

"I can't stay quiet about this anymore," Zell said, speaking his thoughts out loud. All of his friends seemed lost in their own world, his words only got a few quick curious glances before they once more returned to their thoughts. Well they could think all they wanted, he needed to get this off his chest. "We all need to face the fact that Rinoa could be at the heart of this. Rinoa could be there already alongside this Ed guy, waiting for us to turn up. Why aren't any of us talking about this?"

Squall looked up, an unreadable expression on his face before looking back to the ground. It was Quistis who was first to respond, standing from her seat next to Seifer and looking sympathetically at Zell. "We all know that might be the case, Zell. I know its hard but we can't make any decisions until we know what we're dealing with."

"And what are we going to do if it is her? Are we going to treat her like an enemy or are we going to try and talk some sense into her. If I'm honest I'm not sure which I can do. I certainly don't want to see her die as a merciless Sorceress but I'm not sure we can talk to her either."

"We'll get her back if we can, you know we're going to try our hardest. There's nothing more we can do," Selphie spoke up. "Quistis is right, we can't decided what to do until we know what we're dealing with. Rinoa might not even be a part of this stupid Peace Maker thing. They closed Trabia Garden, I'm not going to let them get away with hurting anyone else again. That's what we need to concentrate on."

"You're right," Zell said, punching the air in frustration.

"We're going to get Rinoa back," Selphie said, for a moment returning back to her usual spunky self. "I can feel it. I think this is all going to be okay."

Zell thought for a moment, looking doubtfully at the idea. He looked over at Squall who looked lost in his own world before speaking again. "But what happens if we get her back, then what happens? Whether she's possessed or not, she killed people. It's not like she can just be the same girl she was before. What if she's not the same Rinoa?"

"We just do our job for the moment," Squall's voice spoke out. "We protect the people we need to protect. And just do what we've always done. We worry about Rinoa when she turns up again." The group watched as he stood from his place and made his way out of the cabin room. He was tired of hearing people speak of Rinoa like she was evil. He didn't want to think about whether he would have to fight her anymore. Squall let out a long sigh as he leaned his head against the cool surface of the ship. The ship that Rinoa and himself had once been in alone and away from the rest of the world. Hyne, he wished that he could just be back at that moment in time. He had felt so happy back then. He just needed her right now. Her wanted her to be here by his side.

* * *

The place was crawling with them. From the distance he was at, he could already see that the once homely looking pub had now been taken over by them. He suppressed an urge to look back over his shoulder from where he had once been with all his men. That was for the weak , _he _certainly wasn't weak and he wasn't going to look back. Not now. He'd come too far. His eyes focused forward, his gaze hard as he made his way into the pub. Two large men stood either side of the doors like bouncers, only these men held what appeared to be hammers and kitchen knives in their hands. Two people ready to start a fight, eagerly holding their chosen weapons. Certainly not anyone skilled or trained in the military, but with enough anger driving them to raid their homes for any form of weapon. The Peace Makers. He could already see that they were ready and waiting to start something big.

He had left his men in the centre of Dollet to patrol, they would be ready to come to battle if it was required, but they were to wait until his call. He had found a Peace Maker to interrogate easily enough, this was their home land. The place was full of them. His victim was a young looking man, much more civilised looking than the two men stood at the pub doors. The President had insisted to speak with their leader, Ed, about having some information he might want to know about. The man had been persistent not to take him to his leader, but after seeing the army the President had brought with him he soon changed him mind, insisting that he take the President alone.

The man in front stopped in his steps suddenly as he approached the two men at the door of the pub. He exchanged a few quiet words with them as they looked from him to the President. Their gazes were harsh and unsurprised. The thought occurred to him that perhaps they were already expecting him. _Of course they are, _he thought to himself. _They kidnapped the Sorceress. _The President stepped forward, getting closer to the men to try and decipher what they are saying, however their voices were low and mumbled. He can't hear anything they were saying, only see the incessant stare coming from one of the men. His eyes never left the President, he doubted the man was even listening to what they were saying.

"Hey you," one of the men called. His voice as hard as his gaze. "Follow me."

The man who brought him up to the pub turned on his heels and made his way back through the city, leaving the President alone to face Ed and follow these senseless men inside the building. They turned and made their way inside, Deling feebly following behind, unsure of what he was going to find inside. The first of his senses picked up the unfathomable stench of smoke coming from inside. The whole interior of the pub was smoky, the place had hundreds of Peace Makers inside sat in the main pub area. All smoking and laughing. He thought that they were all outside, but now he saw just how many of them there were, how many he would have to get through to get the Sorceress back. The Peace Makers hearty conversations fell to an uncomfortable silence as they saw the intruder who had just stepped inside the pub. The two men leading simply stood for a moment, giving all of the men a curt nod, and led the President further into the pub. He walked obediently, wishing that he had at least taken two of his men. This was foolish. Suicide, in fact. But right now he didn't care. Right now all he could think of was _his_ Sorceress.

The men led him further through a door. As he got to the doorway, his body tensed at the sound of something smashing beside him. Beer and glass flew over his uniform as a pint glass collided with the wall right next to him. He turned around momentarily, seeing the room full of men staring at him intently. He couldn't tell for the life of him which one had tried to throw it at him, they were all looking at him with hatred in their eyes, each seemed as likely as the other to have thrown it. He turned his gaze back to the doorway and made his was through it, thankful to leave the hate filled eyes of the many Peace Makers behind.

He found himself in a room, only to be face to face with a man sat at a desk. The man was middle aged, his build was tall and rather lanky, but he already knew that this was not a man to mess with. This was Ed Wilson, the unlikely leader of the Peace Makers. He sat back in his desk chair, legs resting on the desk with a smug smile on his face.

"Good morning, President Deling," he said with forced politeness. "It's a pleasure to be at your service. What can I do for you today?"

His words made anger surge through the President's veins. All he wanted to do right now was to lunge across the desk and attack this man. Yet he restrained himself, knowing that would be a foolish thing to do. The two men, who were stood at the entrance of the pub, were now stood in front of the only exit out of this room. He realised suddenly that his previous thoughts had been correct. They had indeed been expecting him, they had been stood waiting for him. They all had. He clenched his fists, the anger welling up inside of him once more.

"Tell me, Ed, do you value the lives of your men?" he asked. The power he once had now coming to the surface.

Ed nodded his head, "They're my men, of course I do."

"Well you better keep that into account for what I'm going to say to you next. Be assured I have one of your men and they are going to be tortured and beaten until they wish they were never born if you don't give me the information I want."

A small laugh escaped the man's lips. "I'm sure you will do that, you're the same murderer your father was when he was in charge," he said, shrugging off the President's threats with little regard. "What information do you need?"

The President turned to the men stood at the doorway, then looked back at Ed. "I wish to speak to you alone. I left my army, now it's time for you to leave yours."

"Very well," Ed said simply, gesturing for his men to leave. "I have nothing to hide."

The men silently left the room, obedient. They didn't look unsure of his orders, Deling observed. They trust their leader. They follow without question. The thought occurred to him that in another world, someone like Ed would have made a perfect leader if only he weren't a terrorist. Not even Caraway took orders from Deling like that. He always questioned recently, he always probed. The President pushed the thoughts away, thinking about his weaknesses was not a way to win this battle. He needed the power. He needed to know that he could beat this man. He was nothing compared to the Galbadian Army. Nothing.

"Where is the Sorceress?" he asked firmly.

"I don't know," Ed responded. "You're the one who lost her. You lost her in Esthar, and now you've lost her again."

"Don't mess me around, Ed," the President growled. "I know you have her. The man I have is one of your men, funny thing is, he's also the one who helped her escape. What sarcastic comment are you going to say about that?"

Taking his legs off the desk and straightening up, Ed looked at the President with a more serious expression on his face, a side that he not often showed people. "I don't know where you got this information from, but you're mistaken. This isn't my doing."

For a moment, the President felt the colour drain from his face. He could see the confusion in Ed's eyes, the genuine confusion. _He's lying, _his head told him. And he listened to his head. This was Ed, he'd been growing more and more powerful by the day. He couldn't have possibly done all of this on his own. He was a liar, a terrorist. Terrorists don't tell the truth. His gaze stared into Ed. He wanted the truth and he wanted it now. He was tired of all these games.

"You actually think I stole her?" Ed asked, almost shocked. He looked naïve, like a young child being accused of something they had not done. "We like to protect Sorceresses, that's no lie. My daughter is a Sorceress, you know that very well. But this whole Sorceress situation; no. She's dangerous. She killed a child in front of everyone here in Dollet. I saw it myself. It was my friend's daughter. Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to try and take her? Why would I put my life in danger for a Sorceress who has lost her mind?"

"Then maybe you should talk to your people more," the President reached into his pocket and pulled out a small picture. He placed it down on the desk in front of Ed and looks at him expectantly. "Is that one of your men?"

Ed looked at it a moment, taking in every detail. "Yes, it is," he answered simply. "He's in Esthar."

"Not anymore," The President stated bluntly. "He's with us now after admitting he helped the Sorceress escape. He's staying with us, and the only way you'll get him back is allowing us to have the Sorceress."

"But I don't have the Sorceress. I-"

Ed's words were cut short as the barrel of a gun was pointed at his head. This only caused him to laugh at the President's reaction. "Oh you really don't want to do that," he said. Before the President had time to respond, the door to the office flew open and some of the Peace Makers came in with guns in hand. All pointed at the President.

Deling looked at Ed. "You agreed to keep your men out of it."

"It's amazing what a little security camera can do, isn't it?" Ed responded. "I'm not an idiot, and I certainly thought you weren't either."

Anger rising once again, Deling pressed his gun against Ed's head. He looked at the five men with their guns aimed at him, he was out numbered, and what made it worse was he could see the hatred in their eyes. He could see that they wouldn't think twice about murdering him. He was vermin in their eyes. .

"You should remember it was your soldiers that killed my wife," Ed looked at his men in the room. "You've killed their friends, you've killed their family. You've got close to Eve, my daughter of all people, and I certainly hope that no harm is going to come of her. Otherwise, you will be dead. Believe me when I say that."

"Eve came to me," the President responded. "She healed my army. She made the effort to come see me. It's not like I asked her to come into my life."

Ed raised an eyebrow at his words. "And she was a stupid girl for running to you, she'll have to bear the consequences for what she's doing. I assure you, it's probably a mistake you taking her into your life."

"Eve has nothing to do with this," Deling shouted, not liking him speaking her name. He couldn't comprehend it, how on earth could Ed be Eve's father? Him of all people. How could he be trusted to teach a young girl? To be a father? "I just need to know where the Sorceress is. It was one of your people who helped her escape? How can you explain this?"

Ed looked at him a moment, a serious look once again taking over his face. "Put you're gun down, Richard Deling. I assure you these men will not hold back for much longer. Your army has ruined their lives. I wish to show you something. I want you to be a part of my world, Richard."

Not knowing what else to do, the President found himself lowering his gun. He didn't like the tone in Ed's voice, he didn't like it at all. But right now he had to cooperate, to do anything else would be suicide. He watched as Ed stepped over to the large window in the office and pulled back the blinds.

"This is my world," he said to Deling as he stared out of the window. "All of this is my creation."

The President was about to speak, when he saw Ed take out a radio and raise it to his lips, a look of pure excitement and insanity in his eyes. He spoke into the radio, four simple words, but four words that left the President with fear of this man. A man who he had once thought a fool, someone who couldn't do something so bad.

"Let the protests begin," he spoke into the radio. For a moment there was only silence, a horrible silence before the storm. Then there was a loud explosion from outside, the sound left the Presidents ears ringing and he was thrown to the ground. The window from which Ed was looking out of only moments earlier broke into shards of glass that flew throughout the room.

"This is the final protest," Ed shouted from over that incessant ringing sound. From outside screams can be heard from civilians. "Everywhere in the world now, this is happening. It's all happening. This is all your fault!" Ed continued to scream at the President.

Outside the pub an explosion came from inside a nearby building, its walls rocked for a moment then crumbled and fell to the ground. Crushing people. The Peace Makers made their way outside and began their march through Dollet, weapons ready in hand. Ready to make a stand. Ready to start a protest.

* * *

Darkness lifted her from the light slumber she had fallen into as she heard a faint bang in the distance. Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was the brightness of the room. It still shocked her, she still expected to wake up to that dank and horrific room she had been in before where…everything happened. Now she found herself in a much more humane room. The room was tatty in some areas, but so was the entire house. Her bed was comfortable and her sheets clean. She was not lying in her own filth. She was not tied up and treated like an abandoned animal. To her, this room was beautiful. It gave some comfort to her uneasy mind, and once again a strange wave of illusion came over her. It made her think that what happened before was just a dream. _This _was just a dream. None of this should have happened to her. How had she got herself into this terrible mess? She was not the sort of person to make enemies, and now she had done something so terrible; she had become the enemy.

Pushing the thoughts away, she returned her attention back to the room and gave a small smile at Miko when she saw him place a glass of water on the bedside table. It felt odd, after all he had done to her, after all he was probably going to do to her, he felt like the only person who understood her. In an odd way, she felt close to him. Yet at the same time a small part of her hated and feared him. Once again, she pushed the thoughts away not wanting to face the idea of what was to happen next.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up," he said softly. She shrugged his apology off with a wave of her hand. "How are you feeling today?"

His words made her stomach sink and fear surge through her as she knew what he was saying. She'd tried to put it to the back of her mind, just wanting to never acknowledge that it was there. She pulled the covers down past her stomach. Since she had awoken she had a horrible realisation in her mind, her stomach hadn't felt right. None of this had felt right. The simple motion of exposing her stomach had stirred a mixture of emotions in Miko, she could see it in his face. What was that? Fear? Excitement? Possibly both, she wasn't sure but it certainly made her not want to witness what amazing thing had happened and want to see it all the same. Her gaze was fixed firmly on the ceiling, it had been as much as possible since she had awoken. Feeling the tears well up in her eyes, she lifted her head slightly to see her stomach. Swollen. Pregnant. She wanted to scream, yet somehow it didn't surprise her. She knew this would happen somewhere deep inside of her, didn't she?

"I only found out I was pregnant yesterday," she said, her voice sounded eerily cold and strong; certainly not what she was feeling inside. "I look nine months pregnant, Miko. What the hell have you done to me?"

Her voice made the reality so much more real to Miko. He looked at her stomach feeling a lot of feelings. Shock. Fear. Excitement. He was horrified yet over the moon at the same time. "I… I didn't expect the pregnancy to go this fast," was all he could say.

"Why do I look like this? I'm supposed to have another nine months."

"You're not human though, Rinoa" Miko spoke. He cleared his throat, tearing his eyes away from the baby growing within her and looked at her. "The baby is not human either. Our DNA makes us a lot stronger and develop faster than humans. Evidently a hell of a lot faster."

Sitting up in the bed Rinoa pulled the sheets up to below her chin, not liking the way he was looking at her. She looked at him with hated. She hated him right now. She really fucking did. "You mean I could be giving birth in a matter of days?"

"You could be giving birth in a matter of hours," he said simply, staring at her. "Maybe even minutes."

Anger. That was all she felt right now. She picked the nearest thing up that she could find and threw it with rage. The glass of water that he had kindly brought to her flew in his direction, only to miss and smash into the wall behind him. She cried then. It seemed like such a feeble thing to do. She could have hit him, killed him even. She had the power inside of her to do it, she knew that. But she knew that no matter what had happened. She needed him. He was the only person right now who understood her. He was the same as her. He didn't condemn her.

"This isn't as bad as you think it is," Miko said, daring himself to come closer to her. He sat on the bed in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She allowed it to stay there for a moment before brushing it away and looking at him more calmly.

"You have to listen to me," she said seriously. "I know you think you're doing something good here, and I know you're enjoying this.. _experiment _of yours. But I can feel this baby inside of me, I can really feel it. It feels bad, Miko. It feels dangerous. You don't realise what you're going to be bringing into the world."

Miko looked at her a moment, hurt on his face. Almost as if he expected her to share his exuberance. "But… this has never happened before. It's a miracle, Rinoa. It's a good thing."

Rinoa shook her head slowly. Sadly. "It's not a good thing, Miko. It's-"

Her words were cut short at the sound of a loud bang, causing the entire house to shake. She looked around her confused and horrified. What was happening? From below she heard screams from people. Then sounds of guns. Something terrible has happened. She turned to Miko who looked just as shocked and confused as her.

"What's happening?" she asked, suddenly very afraid.

He opened his mouth, as if about to say something then closed it again and looked all the more worried as suddenly loud horrified screams from outside can be heard clearly. People are hurt, terrified. Anyone could tell by the sound of those screams. They sound awful. He doesn't want to hear those sorts of screams. He doesn't want to know what happened outside.

She watched as his expression changes from scared and confused, to serious and normal as if nothing happened. As if he suddenly knew what was happening. "Don't worry about it," he says, his voice sounding foreign to her. "It's nothing that you should have to worry about."

She looked confused as he stood from the bed and opened the curtains slightly to look out of the window. He nodded his head slightly, as if his thoughts have been confirmed. "It's fine, Rinoa. Just go back to sleep."

His reaction only made her even more afraid. They're coming for her, the thought reached her mind. Had he told the Galbadian Army? SeeD? Are they all going to come for her and kill her in front of everyone? Maybe they're tearing down the houses until they find her. People are getting hurt because of her.

"They're looking for me, aren't they?" she spoke, accepting her fate.

Miko shook his head as more screams and gunshots sounded in the distance. "It's not," he said simply.

"Then what is it?" she demanded. "What else could it possibly be? I'm not an idiot."

Miko closed the curtains and once more sat on the bed with her. "There are a lot of bad things happening in the world right now, Rinoa. You probably wouldn't know since you've been kept locked away the entire time. Just know that bad things are happening to a lot of people right now, and that is nothing to do with you. You should ignore it for now. Be glad that there's a distraction away from you."

She looked at him a moment, picturing soldiers tearing into people's houses in search of her. Hyne, she couldn't get those thoughts out of her mind. "I don't believe you."

"It's true!" he said, looking directly into her eyes. "I've never lied to you, Rinoa. And I'm not going to start now. The people who are causing all that terror out there, I used to be a part of."

"Who are they?"

Miko sighed at her sudden interest, knowing that he should tell her. Everyone else in the world knows, so why shouldn't she? "They're called the Peace Makers. They're a group of men who hate the Galbadian Army and SeeD and every other army for that matter. They're just trying to make a point. But now the leader of the group… my father, he's losing his mind. He's turning dangerous."

"You're father is the leader of these people?" Rinoa asked. It suddenly dawned on her that she didn't know a thing about Miko. This person she trusted, the father of the child she now carried, she really knew nothing about. It made her wonder why exactly he had done all of this to her. Why would anyone do this?

Miko nodded his head. "My father and his men won't hurt you if they find you. They like Sorceresses, they don't want anymore people to be afraid of them. That was their original group aim. But now everything's just gone wrong."

"Is that because you're his son?"

"Probably," Miko said, a small smile forming on his lips. His turned to the doorway of her room as footsteps could be heard from the hallway outside of the room.

"Who's out there?" Rinoa asked Miko.

"It doesn't matter right now," he said getting up from the bed.

"Is it one of the people from outside?"

"No," Miko said simply. "It's someone you're going to meet soon, but not right now. I'm going to tie you up again, okay?"

She watched silently as he brought out the familiar ropes and bound her to the bed. The thought again came to her mind that she didn't know a thing about him. It seemed strange, she thought everything was simple in her mind but it was so much more complex than that. She could hear someone out in the hallway, they were pacing the hall impatiently, evidently waiting for Miko. And Rinoa didn't have a clue who they were. As he left the room and heard his voice talk to the other person, she felt alone. She felt very alone.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Irvine was the first to speak at the impact. Everything had been fine until a moment ago. There was a horrendous bang and in the distance he could see a cloud of smoke forming from Dollet which was now coming into view.

'_SeeD, can you hear me?' _came Xu's voice from the radio.

"Loud and clear!" Selphie responded, somehow managing remaining to keep her usual cheery attitude after everything that had happened.

'_A shop has just exploded in Balamb. I've had reports from SeeD's in each town around the world of an explosion of some sort.'_

"By the looks of it, the same has happened in Dollet," Selphie spoke, her eyes still focussed on the scenery ahead of her. "Is it the Peace Makers?"

'_Affirmative,' _Xu's voice said. _'They're dangerous, and they're attacking everyone they can. You have new orders for when you arrive at your destination. Do not try to provoke them. Protect anyone you can, and try to get to their leader. I've had reports of the Galbadian Army in Dollet too, side with them if you can.'_

Selphie looked at the others around her, feeling slightly anxious. "Is Rinoa there with them?" she asked.

There was a long pause before Xu's voice spoke up again. _'We've had no sightings of her. For now I don't think she's shown herself. Be careful, and good luck.'_

"You too," Selphie said, feeling slightly relieved. She turned the radio off and began the Ragnorok's descent to the ground.

"Is everyone well equipped for what lies ahead?" Quistis spoke up. Each person gave a nod. "Okay, remember to protect as many people as you can. Our aim is to find Ed and stop all of this. We'll be meeting with our group of SeeD's that are already there now. It's going to be a battle as soon as we get there, so be prepared."

The Ragnorok made its was to the ground at the entrance of Dollet. The group ran out into the city to be met with Balamb cadets who were already in battle with the Peace Makers. Squall hung behind as he watched Quistis fend off the Peace Makers and shout out her orders to the cadets and the group. He felt distant, which was something he never felt during battle. Usually he was good at leading people, and defending people in battle, but it was as if he was in another body. This one more clumsy than his usual body. He even watched Seifer move with speed and skill. Why had he been taken out of battle for so long? It felt like he lost himself. He should be there leading people, and he couldn't. He appreciated that Quistis had sensed his unease and had taken over, but shouldn't he be annoyed that she had taken over? He wasn't though. And that was the strange thing.

"Squall watch out!"

He turned to see a Peace Maker with a gun held out, with haste he cast a protect spell which blocked the bullet from hitting him. He watched it stop just inches away from his stomach in shock. Shaking away his doubts he forced his attention back onto the battle at hand and followed the other SeeD's through Dollet. The place was so messed up. There were injured civilians everywhere. He had to stop many times to heal an injured child or save someone from being attacked by a Peace Maker.

The floor was covered in rubble from the building that had collapsed at the explosion. People were trapped under all of that rubble, he could see that as he walked past a pile of rocks and noticed a small arm smeared with blood inside it. The image churned his stomach but such was the ways of war. He'd seen many things he hadn't ever wanted to see, done many things he hadn't wanted to do. It was just the way his life was.

In the distance he saw a mother and daughter huddled against a corner with two Peace Makers towering above them. He ran as quietly as possible towards them, not wanting the men to see him approach. One had a knife in his hands, which was held high above his head and bringing it down towards the mother while the child screamed in horror. The man's blade never came into contact with the woman as he was knocked off his feet by something else. He looked up to see a man with a gunblade above him, his face had a scar that cut down between his eyes.

The man got up and feebly tried to attack Squall, but bringing his gunblade into contact with the man's chest his actions were stopped. The other Peace Maker looked on in shock and fear as he saw his friend's body on the floor. "Get out of here," Squall yelled, now feeling the fiery anger of battle rising inside of him. He watched as the man fled away from the scene, before turning to the mother and helping her to her feet. From what he could tell neither of them had any injuries that needed healing. "Go to the entrance of Dollet, it's safer there," he said before running further into Dollet back to the group who were slowly making their way forward.

"Squall, we need your assistance," Quistis called as the path was now blocked with a group of five Peace Makers. They made their way forward, each one bearing a gun in hand, hatred filled in their eyes.

Squall took his order and began to move forward when something caught the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a young woman with her back to him, and his heart almost stopped. The woman was dressed in white with black hair. Her features resembled everything of… Rinoa. He stopped dead in his tracks and could only watch as she walked back through the streets and round the corner. Turning back a moment, he watched as his friends and SeeD's engaged into battle. A few Galbadian soldiers had just turned up to the scene as were now helping out in the battle. He should be there to help, he really should. But…

Turning back to where he had seen Rinoa he ran in that direction. His entire body was thudding with the sound of his heart beating. His legs were running as fast as they could but at the same time they felt like they weren't carrying him fast enough. He ran around the corner to where she had once been and found himself face to face with the girl he loved. Her dark chocolate eyes were looking at him curiously. Her lips formed into a small smile when he came closer to her in desperation. He _needed _her. He really did.

"Rinoa I-"

He was cut short when she quickly placed her hand over his mouth, motioning him to be quiet. She gave him one last smile. The smile he had yearned to see for so damn long. Hyne, he loved that smile. Even as the world started to fade to black and he felt his body hit the ground, he didn't care. He knew he had found Rinoa. He knew, deep inside of him that they were finally going to be reunited. And it felt so good.

_Authors note: I apologise for taking so long to update! It took a while but it's finally been written! And yes.. I still have a LOT to explain in my final chapter. I'm so excited! It means a lot to finally be able to complete a story and I thank each and every person that has been kind enough to leave a review. I shall try to get my chapter written within the next two weeks, however I am working full time now, so it's hard finding as much time! Thank you so much, everyone._


	21. Chapter 21 The Demonstration Part II

_Authors note: Yay the last chapter and epilogue are now up! I don't even dare think how many hours I have spent writing these final chapters. Needless to say.. this chapter is horrifically long. I'm sorry! I didn't realise how long it would be, but I thought I'd rather just get it all written in one stupidly long chapter! So.. enjoy?_

The Path of Time

Chapter Twenty-one

_Some people spend their whole lives hoping for something to happen that will change everything. They look for power, or love, or the answers to their biggest questions. I think really what they're looking for is another chance, some way to lead another life, where all the mistakes they've made would be erased, and they could just start over. Nothing bad has happened yet, and all their possibilities are still in front of them._

**Allie Keys _Stephen Spielberg's 'Taken'_**

There was only darkness inside his awakening mind. Although his consciousness was regaining, he could already feel the throbbing in his head. He knew the torture it would put him through if he opened his eyes. He didn't want to face the dizziness or even more pain just yet. He didn't want to face up to anything right now. He wasn't even sure where he was? He lay for a moment longer, allowed his other senses to decipher where he was. He could feel the comfort of a mattress beneath him. There was a softness of a pillow and a sheet pulled over him. Was he in hospital? Did something bad happen to him? He couldn't remember. The room smelt slightly musky and damp, certainly not the sterile smell expected of a hospital or infirmary of some sort.

There was a soft touch of a hand stroking his hair gently. It was soft and comforting in the darkness, but only made him feel more confused. Someone else was in the bed with him. Slowly, he opened his eyes allowing the light to come flooding into his senses. At first his vision was very blurry, he could see a figure above him, but couldn't make out any distinct features. Blinking a few times, his vision began to clear and the person before him came clearer. That was when his memory came flooding back, and all the grogginess he had felt previously disappeared. The battle. He had been fighting against the Peace Makers when they had arrived in Dollet. He had seen Rinoa. He had followed her and then… he couldn't remember. But looking at the person above him who still had a hand tentatively stroking his locks of hair, he didn't care.

"Rinoa," he spoke, his voice sounding hoarse. "Is… is it really you?"

Her gaze had been distant before, her face turned away from him and her eyes had a glazed and faraway look to him. Upon hearing his voice, her attention turned towards him and she gave a sad smile. Her hair hung loosely over her face, on one of her eyes there was a purple bruise. She looked terrible, but at the same time, she couldn't have looked better when he saw that smile and the response she gave.

"It's me," she said. Her voice sounded normal, _she _looked normal. He couldn't easily forget that the last time he saw her it was a miracle for her to speak or even give some recognition to his presence. She was here. She was real. Her hand still unconsciously stroking gently at his hair.

"Are… are you okay?" Honestly, it was the only thing he could think of asking. She seemed so alive and normal right now, and he had so much to ask her. So much to tell her. But for the moment, he couldn't think of anything.

"I think so," Rinoa responded with a small smile, giving a small laugh at the awkwardness that had formed between them. "Are you?"

Squall nodded. He began to lift his hand to gently touch the bruise on her face, when he found he couldn't move his arms. It was then he saw that his arms were bound to the bed with ropes. How had he not noticed since he was awake? Was his head really that groggy? He lifted his head up to look around in slight panic and a surge of pain erupted in his head.

"Why have you done this?" he asked Rinoa as he began trying to move his arms in desperation. It was like dangling a treat in front of a child, always out of reach. Why was he tied up? He thought he'd be able to be with Rinoa now. How foolish he had been.

"It's not me," Rinoa said sitting up from the bed. She held her arms up to him, revealing her wrists which had their own read circles around them, marks made from the same ropes around his very arms. The sight didn't seem to make Squall react any better. "It's just a precaution for now. I promise you no one is going to hurt you. I won't let them."

"Have you been hurt by _'them'_?" Squall asked, using her choice of words. It was strange, he hadn't thought of why Rinoa had been in this strange house of all places. He hadn't thought there'd been someone else here with her. But then, he hadn't been thinking an awful lot recently it seemed. He only acted on impulse, and it made him very foolish indeed.

At his words, Rinoa looked away. Had she been hurt by them? She almost laughed out loud at his words. Of course she'd been hurt, she'd been hurt bad. But Squall would never understand what had happened. She didn't want him to know about what she had been through. No one ever would. It was something she never wanted to think about again. "The black eye was an accident, Squall," she said, trying to erase the other memories forming in her head. The feel of Miko's heaving weight above her as each thrust he made was like a knife shredding through her insides. It made her feel sick.

"Is there anything else you want me to know about?"

She looked up at him, about to deny that anything else had happened, but stopped dead in her tracks as she saw his alarmed eyes staring at the bulge of her stomach in her white dress. Once again she felt it very hard to look him in the eye, her gaze lowered to a spot on the floor she let out a small sigh. "It's complicated," she said simply. She felt his gaze upon her, it felt piercing and she really didn't like it. No, this wasn't fair on him. She needed his help if she could have it.

Turning her head back in his direction, she looked with seriousness in her face. "Something very bad is happening, Squall. Not just for you or even me, but for everything. Something horrible is growing inside of me and it's going to surface soon, I can feel it."

Squall looked at her confused. Sure, it didn't make sense how she had become pregnant so fast, but that wasn't how he expected her to speak of her own baby. He didn't expect anyone to speak like that about pregnancy. "I don't understand," he responded.

"She means she's carrying a pure Sorceress inside of her."

It was a male voice. He hadn't even noticed the strange man stood at the doorway of the room. He wondered how long he had been stood there. Hyne, he wondered who the hell this man was? The bed shifted as Rinoa stood up at hearing the strange man's voice and making her way across the room.

"Rinoa…?"

She looked behind her at Squall, a look of sadness in her eyes, before turning back to the man. "Why did you bring him here, Miko?" she asked, desperation in her voice. As much as it made her happy to see Squall, she didn't want him to see her like this. She didn't want him to witness everything that had happened.

"I asked you if there was anything I could bring you to make you feel better," Miko said, matter of fact. He looked at Squall lying helplessly on the bed, before turning his gaze back to Rinoa. "You chose him."

Rinoa looked horrified at Miko. She'd brought this on herself, how could she have been so stupid? "But I don't…" she looked desperately at Miko, hoping he'd understand all the thoughts going through her head.

"You don't want him to know what's happening? That I'm the father of your baby, and we're going to bring something so powerful into the world, who knows what could happen?" Miko gave a satisfied smile at seeing the anger rising in Squall as he tried to break free from the bed.

"What the hell have you done?" Squall growled angrily. "What have you done to her?" he shouted.

Miko moved across the room and sat on the bed beside Squall. "I took her from Esthar to this little house in Dollet right here. I tied her to the bed, pretty much like you are now. With those exact ropes in fact. And I bred with her until her body was able to successfully conceive. Do you know how exciting this is? We're both Sorceresses; think of the power our child will have!"

Squall looked at Miko with pure hatred. He was about to try to kick and do whatever he could do to try to get out of these ropes and kill the bastard who sat smugly before him, when he heard a cry of pain come across the room. He looked helplessly to see Rinoa holding herself limply against the wall and clutch at her stomach in pain. Miko stood from the bed and quickly made his way over to her, but she pushed him away angrily. She didn't care how caring he had been to her. She hated him for what he had just done. What he had said to Squall was something that she would never forget.

"Rinoa, let me help you," Miko said as she pushed him away, her face distressed.

"Leave me alone," she shouted as she felt a rush of liquid running down her legs. Again, Miko tried to help her, but his presence near her only made her angrier. She punched him hard in the stomach, winding him momentarily. He backed off away from her, but it was then she felt an arm wrap gently over her shoulder. She looked up to see a familiar looking face, a person she would never forget from the time she was in Esthar.

"Hello again, Rinoa" Eve spoke gently. "Lets get you some blankets and deliver this baby, shall we?"

* * *

Blood spurted from his mouth as the man put another forceful blow to his face. He spat the sour blood on to the glass covered floor. Outside he could hear the battles that had started to become a lot more serious. He could hear the sounds of war. How foolish they had all been not to stop this Peace Makers nonsense in the first place. And now it had come to this. 

He lifted his head up as Ed stomped his foot against the President's side. He sucked in a sharp breath of air, the unbearable pain that had erupted throughout his entire body. He wanted to die right now, this was just torment. Ed's men both stood nearby looking bored as if this were nothing to them. He couldn't fight back, he'd tried to escape when all the Peace Makers were still half recovering from the explosion, it just made more of them join in. He'd rather feel the wrath of Ed, rather than them all.

"So Richard," Ed said as he knelt down on the ground beside the fallen President. "Do you know what it's like being the victim now? Oh I bet it's nice and easy sending your men to war while you hide in the fancy office of yours. This is what your men do to people like us."

"What do you want of me?" the President said breathlessly. He'd agree to anything right now. He just wanted to be rid of this. Where were his army when he really needed them?

"I want you to see what it's like to be on the other side. The Galbadian Army have brutally taken the lives of too many people. Your men killed my wife."

Deling tensed his body as there was another kick in the ribs. The pain was unbearable. He could hear his heat thudding loudly, his entire body seemed to be pumping along with his heart. "Why aren't you killing me?" he asked, his voice barely inaudible.

"Because I need you as a demonstration," Ed said simply. Once again he crouched on the floor and looked at the President with almost pity in his eyes, before the disgust came back. He sat on the floor crossed legged before Deling. "You know, maybe you're right about my men. I think there's something going on behind my back and I don't like it."

"What do you mean?"

"There is my man who stupidly helped the Sorceress escape- yes, I knew about that. But it was not my order. Another of my men killed a civilian the other day. Do you think they're part of something new, maybe they're forming their own alliance?"

"Maybe they're bored of following your orders," Deling said. He raised his arms, expecting another blow, but none came. Ed looked deep in his thoughts, for now, the beating were over. Ed wanted to talk.

"You might be right," he said after a moment of silence. "But they're not going to go against my word. This demonstration is for the people like you, who need to see what it's like when people close to you die. It's for my men too. I need to show them they can't stray from me. They can't make up their own rules and do things just out of spite, that's not the way we work. I'll show them. They won't stray from me again!"

"And how are you going to do that?"

Ed got to his feet and made his way to his desk. He pulled a gun out of the drawer and held it up in front of his face, as if mesmerised by it. "We're going for a walk," was all he needed to say. His men stepped forward and pulled the President to his feet, forcing him to walk. Each step sent another surge of pain through his body, it was almost impossible to walk. The men pushed him roughly and scolded him for walking too slow. He struggled to get to his feet, but Ed was patient, he stood by the doorway looking at him.

"Help him walk," he said to his men, before turning to Deling. "You'll need to save you're energy. You'll want to look your best since you're the next part of my demonstration."

* * *

It was a never ending battle, it seemed that the Peace Makers were appearing from out of nowhere. There was hundreds of them, and no matter how many they fought, it seemed that the number of them only grew more. 

"This is never ending," Quistis said, turning to Zell who was nearby her.

The martial artist punched a Peace Maker hard in the stomach, making the man winded on the ground. "You're telling me," he responded breathlessly before resuming fighting once more.

Scanning the horizon, Quistis looked to see the SeeD's slowly fighting and making their way through the Peace Makers, just ahead of her she could see Selphie healing some civilians whilst Irvine had her back shooting any Peace Makers that dared come close to them. Seifer was further ahead threatening some wary looking Peace Makers with his already bloodstained gunblade. Other SeeD's were also around, no one seemed hurt. "Where's Squall?" she spoke out loud, but didn't have time to finish her thoughts as she felt a sharp pain in her arm. She let out a small scream at the pain that came rushing through her, making her arm feel numb. She turned to see a Peace Maker raise a hammer, once more to collide with her body. Her good arm injured, she shifted her whip into her other hand, backing away from the man and out of his range of attack.

The man, however, was persistent, as he ran towards her, his choice of weapon held high. She backed away once more, wishing that everyone else weren't so engrossed in their own battles. Zell was tackling two men at a time, Seifer and the other SeeD's were too far in the distance to help her. She feebly attacked him with her weapon, but it only caused him to slow down a little. She ran as fast as she could, shouting for anyone to come help her. She needed time to cast a cure spell on herself, and right now, she didn't have that time.

She stopped startled in her tracks when she heard a number of gun shots and felt bullets fly past her and embedded themselves in to the Peace Makers. Turning behind her she saw a group of uniformed men, Galbadian soldiers stood in line with their guns raised and ready to attack. Ordering them along was General Caraway. The line of men raised their guns once more, and fired, killing more of the Peace Makers, making them back away, retreating further in to Dollet. It seemed that whenever the Peace Makers began to lose men, they always ran away. Evidently they weren't soldiers, trained to fight until the very end. They were more cowardly, fighting only as long as they needed to before running away, some fleeing a lot sooner than others.

Quistis used the time to cast a cure spell on herself, her arm still ached, but she could move it a lot easier without being in too much pain, she realised it would have to do for now. It wasn't the time for her to worry about such things. She turned her attention to General Caraway, who was making his way towards the SeeD's, and greeted them with a curt nod.

"I see you're being attacked by them too," he said curtly. "Me and my men will aid you in the battle, it's easier with all of us together. We need to head to the centre of Dollet. There's lots of commotion going on up there, we've heard that is where Ed is."

Quistis nodded, before turning around, once again looking at the faces of SeeD's. "Has anyone seen Squall?" she asked as all of the SeeD's approached her. They all looked around, and a horrible dread came over Quistis.

"We need to find him," Seifer spoke up from the crowd of people.

"We don't know where he is," Quistis spoke. She could feel Caraway's impatience and knew that they needed to head further in to Dollet before something even worse happened. She said her next words coldly, although deep down it hurt to say., and she wished it didn't have to be this way. "He could have been injured or killed, I'm not sure we have time to send out a search party right now."

"I'll go on my own," Seifer said.

"No, Seifer, you'll get yourself killed. I don't want to lose two people."

"Don't worry about me," he said, his normal arrogance showing through. "You all need to go and concentrate on finding Ed. I'll go over areas we've already covered, there's hardly any Peace Makers along the outskirts now anyway."

Quistis stared at Seifer cautiously. "Are you… Are you sure?"

He nodded. "If I can't find him soon, I'll make my way back to you." She watched as he ran down the street, not sure what to think of his brave actions. She didn't have time to think about it, before making her way further in to Dollet, not sure of what she was going to face ahead of her.

* * *

Rinoa let out a moan from the pains in her stomach as she sat on the floor, Eve holding her hand and rubbing her back gently. She lifted her head as Miko returned with some towels and a blanket in his hands, placing them in front of her. "I need you to held sooth Rinoa for me, while I see how she's doing, I think her contractions will stop for a moment soon though." 

"I don't want him anywhere near me," Rinoa spat, her eyes glaring at Miko. She looked at him with hatred in her eyes, before breaking down into tears as fear and pain filled her senses. "Why are you doing this to me?" she sobbed.

From the bed, Squall struggled helplessly, ignoring the pain as the rope rubbed harshly against his skin. He just wanted to be out of these ropes. It made him feeling so frustrated and helpless to see and hear Rinoa in pain, to be so close to her but not be able to do anything or be able to comfort her. And why the hell was Eve here? He looked at her angrily as she momentarily made eye contact with him. "I trusted you," he shouted. "Why did you help us when you're a part of all of this? When you're on the same side as _him_." He looked at Miko with disgust.

Eve let out a small sigh as she placed an arm around Rinoa. "Let him free, Miko. He needs to be here to help Rinoa," she spoke.

"But what happens if he tries to do something stupid?" Miko asked, sensing Squall's anger.

"He's not stupid," Eve spoke. "If I'm not here to help deliver this baby, then Rinoa could die. She's already in a great risk anyway just bearing this child, I'm sure Squall knows that. Right now he needs us." She spoke all the time looking Squall in the eye, making sure he knew what was happening right now. How serious all of this actually was.

Reluctantly, Miko pulled a knife from his pocket and worked on cutting the ropes that had left Squall's wrists bleeding and burnt. As soon as Squall felt the rope loosen around him, he got to his feet as quickly as possible. Swinging his fist back, he punched Miko hard in the nose which made a sickening crack at the impact as blood poured from the nose. He pushed Miko hard against the wall, and watched him fall helplessly to the floor before making his way towards Rinoa. He crouched down on the floor next to her and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her. She rested her head against his chest, and cried silently against him. His hand reached up to gently stroke her face, right now he really didn't care about what was happening outside. Let everyone else fight their wars. Right now he was here with Rinoa in his arms, and it felt so good. She felt so alive, so real.

Seeing that Rinoa's first contractions had stopped, Eve sat on the floor in front of Rinoa. "To answer your question from earlier," she said, pushing a lose strand of hair behind her ear. "I helped you because I knew you'd be here at the end. As much as I need this experiment to work, I know that you both need each other. Rinoa's unwillingly done a lot for me the last six months, the least I could do was reward you both by allowing you to be together. You're still her knight, and you're a valuable part of this experiment too."

Squall's gaze once more turned to anger. "If you were that bothered about having a baby why didn't you try?"

"With Miko?" Eve gave a small laugh, she looked at Miko who sat as far away from Squall as possible, using the sleeve of his jacket to tend to his bleeding nose. "I love my brother dearly, and yes.. We did try to do this ourselves, but I'm not strong enough. I'm not a pure Sorceress by that, you see."

Squall looked both disturbed and confused at her words. "What do you mean 'pure Sorceress'?"

"Normally a Sorceress only acquires her powers when it is passed on from another Sorceress. That didn't happen to me, I was given the genes that allowed me to have the same genetic make up of a Sorceress. It doesn't make me as strong as a Sorceress, I certainly couldn't go on any kind of killing sprees like Rinoa had done, but I do have some sort of power."

"So you couldn't use your powers to fight or anything?" Squall asked. He felt slightly relieved yet more confused when she shook her head. "So what powers do you have?"

"I'm a little like Ellone," Eve responded. "Mainly I can make a kind of link in people's minds, I can sense how they're feeling and what they're thinking. I can put thoughts into people's heads. I was the one that unlocked Rinoa's powers, making her too strong too soon." She ignored that startled glances she got from Miko, keeping her gaze firmly on the couple in front of her. "Miko thought he did all of that to you, the reality is, I have a link with the both of you. Using Miko's energy and taking it so I have enough strength to use my powers on you. Miko allows me to have a lot stronger powers when I use his energy."

Rinoa lifted her head and pulled away from Squall slightly as she looked at Eve. "How did you become a Sorceress? Someone must have made you that way, surely."

Eve nodded her head. "When I was younger I had a serious illness, it was terminal and my parents, distraught went to doctors and scientists to see if there was anything to help cure me. They were desperate for me not to die, they didn't care what the risks were, they'd try anything. So they decided to take me to a scientist who claimed to have a gene that could cure cancerous and other terminal illnesses. They tested the gene on me, you see, a Sorceress' antibodies are a lot stronger than human cells. They can fight off a lot more serious illnesses, but the side effect was the powers I gained. I guess we all found out the hard way that this gene couldn't be used on just any dying patient. Who knows what could happen if the wrong person gained these extra abilities? It even cost me the love of my biological parents. They tried to slaughter me like an animal, something I will never forget. Luckily I was blessed with Miko and his family. They have been better parents than my real parents ever were. Who would slaughter their own child when they put me in that danger in the first place?"

Squall took in all of the information, amazed that this kind of science had been going on. "Who was the scientist who experimented on you?" he asked. "It sounds like the kind of sick work of Odine."

Eve laughed at the mention of his name, shaking her head in amusement. "No, it was someone a hell of a lot better than Odine," she responded, a reminiscent smile on her lips. "She was the greatest scientist that ever lived. I'm surprised you don't know who I'm talking about, you met her yourself once. You killed her."

As the last words escaped her lips, her expression turned from happy to very serious. She looked at Squall coldly, an icy glare seeming almost foreign on her innocent looking face. Evidently now Squall realised she wasn't innocent at all, not in the slightest.

"I don't understand," Squall responded, not liking her stare.

"Ultimecia," was the word Rinoa responded, she also found herself lost within those cold eyes. A shiver ran down her spine, before she felt a surge of pain as her contractions started once more. She clung on to Squall, finding him to be the only comfort through all her pain.

"Ultimecia," Eve repeated, ignoring Rinoa's pain. "She was the greatest scientist ever to walk this land, and you killed her."

* * *

There were hundreds of Peace Makers stood at the centre of Dollet, surrounding the fountain. They were waiting for something, as they stood silently watching in the distance looking out for something. As the group of SeeD's and the Galbadian Army approached, the Peace Makers looked at them in silence, but no one made an effort to fight. Their attention was on something entirely different. It was hard to tell the mood of the Peace Makers, evidently something was happening, but it was hard to tell what. 

"What the hell is going on here?" Zell responded, as they entered the crowd of Peace Makers. They were welcomed to the crowd it seemed, some of the men even made way for the SeeD's.

It was then that Caraway spotted four men coming towards them from the distance. The man at the front they recognised as Ed Wilson, the leader. Behind him he saw two men dragging another man behind, they roughly pushed him forward towards Ed who held out a gun. Caraway saw it was the President who was made to kneel before Ed, his face was bloody, he had been badly beaten. "Sir," the General said, he and his army running forward, surprisingly so, the Peace Makers still didn't seem to react to their presence.

"Don't move General, otherwise I'll blow his brains out and make a demonstration of you as well," Ed responded as he watched him approach. He gave a satisfied smile as the General did as he was told, before turning to his men as well as the SeeDs and Galbadian Army in front of him, keeping his gun pressed hard against the temple of the President. "You all know why we're here today, we want to make a better world. We want to get rid of the scum like these people here: SeeD. The Galbadian Army. They're nothing more than terrorists, killing our families rather than fighting the people they're supposed to. They are our enemies, but it seems some of you have forgotten who is in charge here."

"Some of you seem to think it's okay to do your own thing. You're dropping your standards and doing what you think is best, rather than us working as a team to make a powerful demonstration. Some of you have sunk down to the standards of the Galbadian Army here, killing innocent people just for the thrill of it. Some fool even thought it would be a good idea to help the Sorceress escape. Well that kind of attitude stops, and it stops now. We didn't get to where we are by being foolish, we're here because we have a reason. A purpose. And if any of you think you're going to do something better and more powerful, you've got another thing coming. This is a demonstration for all of you, whether you be a Peace Maker, a SeeD or the Galbadian Army. I'm serious. I want to achieve things and I don't care who steps in my way. I will get what I want to achieve."

Ed raised his gun in the air as if in celebration, like it were some sort of trophy, before once again placing it against the President's temple. Immediately he heard the sounds of the Galbadian Army raising their weapons and gestured to his men who also pulled out guns and aimed at the President. "You kill me, your President also dies. I'm making sure he's dead. Whether it be from my hand or someone else's. I'm going to make sure you all pay."

Alarmed, Caraway gestured for his men to lower their weapons. "We are not here to cause any offence or violence today, let me assure you that is not our intention. Perhaps there is some sort of agreement we could come to? You give back the President and we'll back off, we'll get out of here and never bother Dollet again unless you tell us to come."

Ed shook his head, "I'm not going to be persuaded. I need to show everyone here I'm not some sort of joke. I'm serious."

"We know that you're serious. People have died here today, you've killed people on other days, there are many people in Galbadia who are in fear of you. Hyne, the entire world is starting to live in fear since your men have shown up in every town. That's an awful lot of power, and you have shown us how serious you are. But killing the President isn't going to make anything better for you, it's not going to achieve anything. Anyone can see your men are loyal."

Ed shook his head, a cool breeze passing through his hair; he was barely aware of the sky growing hastily darker. Clouds were moving fast through their sky, they seemed to move in circles in an unnatural cycle until they formed in one large dark mist above Dollet. A few people looked past Ed, their attention turned towards the sky in awe and horror as a cold breeze passed through the crowd again. The darkness was pulling through the day fast, even though it was still only early afternoon. This wasn't right. There was a bad vibe running through the air, something unnatural. Something so wrong.

Droplets of rain began to pour from the sky, making their descent to the ground and landing on Ed who looked around him surprised by the sudden turn of day. He tried to remain in control of his demonstration, but like everyone else, he couldn't help but stare to the sky as it danced above them lost in its own trail of beauty and terror. "What the hell..?" Ed murmured as he saw the clouds, like spirits dancing and twirling in the sky, until they were eventually engulfed into the thick black cloud resting seemingly just above them, it was forming in one particular area just ahead of them in Dollet. And suddenly Ed too was filled with that sense of wrongness in the air. What was that he could feel within him?

A loud crack sounded through the air and the group of people turned their attentions back to the ground. A gunshot had been fired, making them look around in confusion and despair as to what had happened. Their leader looked at his men with anger. The two men he trusted the most stared back at him, their guns still smoking from the bullet that had fired out. He clutched a hand to his stomach, feeling the warm crimson on his hands, but trying not to take any notice of it. He stumbled on his feet, but regained his stance. He had started a demonstration and he damned well was going to finish it no matter what it took. With shaking and bloody hands, he once again raised his gun towards the President who still knelt on the floor, now a look of alarm in his eyes as he looked from Ed's stomach, to his face.

A split began to form in the group of Peace Makers, Caraway observed. It appeared half of them were shocked and horrified by what had happened, some of them trying to come forward and help their leader, but they were being fought off by other less shocked Peace Makers. They looked to the dark hue of clouds forming in the sky, before they left Ed and fled the centre of Dollet, making their way through the streets, leaving the other more confused Peace Makers behind to look on helplessly.

Ed fell to the floor shakily, as the wound stained his clothes a deep shade of red, he felt the warm liquid trickling down his abdomen, there was so much blood, he could feel it all over him. He felt light-headed, he would have shot the President but, in truth, he felt like he didn't even have enough energy to pull the trigger on his gun. Instead he turned his head to look at the President who now sat above him.

"You should never have trusted Eve," he spoke softly, barely audibly. He felt confused and angry, how the hell had his people done this to him? He'd been there for them all through their grief, helped them all, made them have a purpose in life. And they shot him! They were fucking killing him. He was so angry at them, but he knew the purpose of them. He knew what he was sensing when he was looking at the dark sky above him. "She's done this."

Deling looked at the man pitifully for a moment. "You've done this to yourself," he spoke coldly, he began to move to his feet but he felt the firm grip of Ed's hand clamp on his arm, keeping him held in place.

"She's done this to me," with his free arm he pointed in the direction where his men had previously run. Where the dark clouds were forming. "Follow them. You can see with your own eyes what she has become. I knew something like this was going to happen, she's too bright, with far too many ideas running through that head of hers. I tried to do all the terror for her, so she wouldn't have to. But she went and did it anyway."

The President looked on in disbelief, barely noticing his men and the SeeDs were also present next to him. All he could see was Ed, who now spat out a mouthful of blood on the floor and he clutched at his stomach, his face in great pain. No matter how much pain he was in, his other arm was still clamped tightly around Deling, keeping him in place until he had spoken all he needed to say.

"I can feel her," he said through lips stained with blood. "She's got a way of getting in my head. She's very excited that this is finally happening. She's… she's very happy."

* * *

Her piercing scream filled the air as sweat poured down her face. She tried to take deep breaths but it was as if her body wasn't allowing her to do that. Her breathing was shallow, the pain was fierce, like her body had taken over, no longer allowing her to have any control over herself. She grabbed on to the pillow now below her head from where she lay on the floor. Above her she could see a worried looking Squall who held on to her hand tightly, his gaze staying on Rinoa, before flicking to Eve every so often in a worried glance, hoping the girl knew what she was doing. 

"Don't push, Rinoa," the girl cried, looking progressively more startled and worried as the labour had progressed. "You're not fully dilated yet, so don't even try to push."

"I can't help it," Rinoa cried, tears running down her face. "I can't control it."

The room had turned dark as the day had turned murky, making the room dull but she was still able to see as well as she needed too. Eve gave a small gasp as she found her hands in a pool of blood on the floor, and gave Rinoa a worried glance. The girl was in distress, and not doing herself any favours if she wanted to survive the birth of her child. "You have to control it Rinoa," she pressed once more.

"She said she can't help it," Squall responded angrily.

"Well she's going to have to," Eve snapped. "Otherwise she's going to make this a hell of a lot more painful and dangerous for herself."

The young Sorceress was already halfway dilated, the babies head visible through the birth canal, but she had a long way to go before she could even think of getting this baby out. Eve gave a small smile at seeing the first sight of the baby, and excitement growing within her. She could feel herself shaking at the thought that she had finally done it, this was actually happening. The baby was beautiful, and it was a Sorceress. A pure Sorceress. Her smile widened at the thought.

The smile on his face quickly faded as once again Rinoa let out an exasperated scream, this time more shocking more terrifying. She looked at Rinoa in alarm, noticing that once against she appeared to be pushing the baby out.

"Stop it," Eve responded harshly. She opened her mouth to speak again when she felt the house shake around her, the floorboards around Rinoa cracked and split, as if some sort of invisible force were pressing her hard against the ground. Once again, she heard Rinoa's scream of pain.

"The dark clouds are above us," Miko said, who stood by the window, his eyes transfixed on the sky above the house. There was a crash of thunder and lightening from above him as if to prove his point. He turned to Eve with an unreadable expression on his face. He didn't have to say anything, she already knew what horrible revelation was going through his head, she had realised the same thing herself. She could feel it within her, as if her energy was being drained slowly.

"What the hell is happening?" Squall said anguished at the fact that he seemed to be the only one who didn't know what was happening.

"The baby is pushing itself out," Eve responded colourlessly, she was shocked herself.

Squall looked dismayed. "But you said it wasn't time for Rinoa to push yet, you said it could be dangerous."

Eve nodded, a look of amazement on her face. "It appears the baby wants to come out now, regardless of whether Rinoa is ready or not," the red haired girl looked awestruck. "It would sacrifice its mother at such a crucial time. Her body is not strong enough or quick enough to cope with its natural development. She's supposed to be ready to give birth now."

She could see the head forming at the surface between Rinoa's legs, pushing it's way through. The raven haired girl convulsed at the pain, feeling the warm liquid of her own blood beneath her. She cried out at the agonising pain, feeling the realms of unconsciousness take over her. Above her she could hear the raised voices of Squall and Eve, but she couldn't make any sense of their words. She felt so weak yet the pain was only growing more and more intense with every breath she took. As the darkness took over her, she could still feel the pain gripping at her.

Miko tore his eyes away from the sky and looked over his shoulder to see Eve pull the newborn baby from Rinoa. She got to work wrapping the baby in a towel and clamping it's umbilical cord as if she were a skilled doctor. She looked scared at the amount of blood that had come from Rinoa. He watched as she began putting stitches in the unconscious girl, she had been prepared for this sort of thing to happen, he could see that. He watched almost in admiration as she tenderly put stitches in the girl's damaged body and ordered Squall to revive her with spells. It took a long while, but eventually the bleeding stopped and her wounds didn't seem to be so bad as she began making consciousness again.

He watched as Eve picked up the baby wrapped in the towel and smiled down at it. She revealed Rinoa had given birth to a baby girl, and smiled towards Miko, showing him the baby. He withdrew against the wall when he saw the child, a wave a nausea washing over him. Suddenly what Rinoa had said to him earlier seemed to become clear. Something was very wrong about this. Eve had shown him the baby as if it were some sort of miracle, a beautiful thing. But it had only left him shaking with fear and uncertainty. What the hell had they done?

"Eve, you can't do this," he spoke, daring himself to step closer to her. "Can't you feel what's coming from the baby? The thing tried to kill Rinoa, don't you get it? This is far too powerful for us. We can't bring up this child."

She smiled sadly in his direction. "You're in shock," she said coldly. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about," Miko shouted, his loud voice making the newborn cry. To anyone else it would have sounded like a normal cry, but to him it sounded terrifying, it sounded evil. "The whole idea of this is sick." He grabbed his head, and looked at Eve with wide eyes. "How the hell did you talk me into raping someone? _Rape, _Eve! You played with Rinoa's mind knowing full well she'd end up killing lots of people, you let her give birth to… this! You've risked so many lives here, and you don't even realise that one day what you've created is going to kill us. It's going to kill us all, and be even worse than Adel, or Ultimecia, or even what Rinoa was. It's not meant to happen."

"But it has," Eve responded, looking admirably down at the baby. "We've accomplished the impossible."

Squall held Rinoa close to him, not bothering to listen to what Eve and Miko were talking about. Right now, he really didn't care what them two idiots had to say, they had nearly lost Rinoa. He felt her arms cling lightly around him, she was so weak and pale it scared him to look at her. But she had grasped on to him as soon as she had regained consciousness, she didn't look at the baby. She looked at no one, only buried her head against Squall's chest.

Miko and Eve's voices stopped when the distant voices of people outside were heard from outside. She turned to Miko, who seemed to also understand what the voices were from. "Check outside," she ordered Miko. "Make sure everything is in order."

Miko shook his head, angry by her response. "No," he said, sounding more calm than he felt. "I'm done following your orders. I'm not hurting anymore people for you. I'm certainly not like Dad, I'm sure he'll appreciate all of this. I wish our family never welcomed you into our home, all you've done is ruin everything."

Eve placed the infant on a bed of towels an a sheet that she had prepared earlier, leaving a tender kiss on the babies forehead. She stood to her feet and walked towards Miko, who stood enraged, holding his ground. She slapped him, making his cheek tingle with pain, but he didn't show the pain he felt, he was far too angry to show her any kind of emotion.

"You disgust me," she spoke before leaving the room and making her way towards the entrance of the house.

The young man slumped to the ground as he heard her make her way outside. He tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. How the hell did he get himself mixed up in all of this? He never wanted to hurt anyone. He raised his head and looked at the couple in front of him.

"I'm so sorry," he spoke remorsefully. "I've… I've done something terrible."

Squall looked at the man, his initial response to the mans reaction being anger, he wanted to hurt this man for what he'd done, but he decided against it. "You need to help us," Squall said calmly, realising having Miko on his side would be easier to get them out of this mess.

"I don't know what I can do," Miko whispered, looking at them desperately. "Eve will be back soon."

"That's fine," Squall said, encouragingly. "You need to get me my weapon for when she comes back. I want you to help me get us all out of here."

"What about.. That?" Miko spoke, fear in his eyes as he looked at the baby in the sheets. "We can't bring that into the world, who knows what will happen."

"We'll sort that out once we're all out of here," Squall said. "But for now, I need your cooperation, and I need my weapon. Do you think you could do that?"

Miko nodded his head slowly before picking himself up off the ground. It was a risk to have Miko on their side, Squall thought. But it was a risk he needed to take.

* * *

The Peace Makers stood in a crowd outside the house, some of them looking at it sceptically, others still in shock after seeing the dark clouds form overhead and then dispersing into the air just as quickly as they came. There were a lot of rumours as to what was really happening, what the true plans of the Peace Makers was to be. In truth, it appeared that only a select few seemed to know what was happening. 

Upon seeing Eve step outside the house one of the men, who was once Ed's closest guard, stepped forward to greet her. He gave her a curt nod as she came towards him. "It is done," the man spoke.

Eve stayed silent a moment, her eyes taking on a glazed look as if she were deep in thought. She knew what his phrase meant. Ed had been executed. It had been her order to do so, she didn't need people getting in her way and causing unnecessary trouble when there were more serious matters at hand. Still, she couldn't help feeling a slight sense of sadness within her at the news of his death. The man that had greeted her with welcome arms, who had allowed her to be the daughter he had never had. He truly was a caring man and meant a lot to her, but things had changed, they both had different goals, and had formed quite dangerous minds.

"Good," she responded coldly. "Are the other Peace Makers following your orders?"

"We've lost some of them, they got freaked out at seeing Ed die, but most have been responsive."

Eve nodded her head slowly, looking among the crowd of men in front of her. From the distance she saw a group of people coming towards them, just as she expected, the Galbadian Army were coming. She let out a small sigh at seeing the President leading the way, a desperate look in his eyes. Upon seeing the approaching Army, the Peace Makers began taking out their weapons, looking to Eve… too each other, not really sure who their leader was anymore.

"Don't hurt them," Eve said, stepping away from the house and towards the President who was almost running towards her, his pace a lot faster than those behind him. She smiled sadly as he approached her.

"Eve," the President spoke. He could feel Caraway's gaze in the back of his head, he could feel all of their disapproving glances. But he didn't care. He'd just seen Ed die after being shot by one of his own men, he'd just heard that Eve was to do with all of this. _His _Eve. No, that could never be. He wouldn't believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. She looked just as sweet as she had done back when they were a lot closer, when she would be in his company day in and day out. Hyne he missed those days. But now, looking at her with her blood stained clothes- it was all over her hands, even her face- he couldn't help but feel alarm. "What's happening here?"

"Richard…" she started, tiring already is his stupid ways. "I told you to back off. I don't need you anymore."

"You're hurt," Deling spoke, his arms reaching out to her ready to take her somewhere safe where she couldn't be hurt anymore. He wanted to protect her, he wanted… He wanted her to be the same innocent girl that he could protect like she had been when she had showed up at his office that day after healing his army. Where was that girl now?

"It's not my blood," she said, holding his arms out to validate her point. "I'm fine, I don't need any help, I just need you to get out of here. All of you." Her last words were directed to the Galbadian Army with him, as well as the SeeD's that also stood among them.

"But Eve, look at you. There's bloo-"

"I said leave," she said harshly, not bothering to let him finish his sentence. She didn't want any harm to come to him, but he was just being plain irritating to her now.

"Sir, Eve's well being is not the reason we're here," the General interrupted, tired of his leader's weakness for the girl showing through. He was wrong to think this man ever worthy of running the country, he was pathetic, he shouldn't even be out here. He looked towards Eve, "You're to do with all of this, aren't you?"

She smiled at the General's directness. "Yes, I am."

"No, you're not," the President spoke up. "Let me help you Eve."

"You're not going to help anything, you don't understand anything that's going on," she said stepping back. "You're only seeing what you want to see."

"Tell me what's going on then."

"You won't understand," she said. Reaching into her jacket she pulled out a gun and held it up to the President's alarmed face. "You'll try to stop everything, just like you tried to kill Rinoa. I won't have you murdering any more people. You and your army, you killed my mother when she was trying to protect me. You think I'd really trust you?"

Deling looked at Eve silently as he watched her try to fight back her tears, a stray tear already escaping and falling down her cheek. His men held their weapons ready, but he signalled for them to back off. "Eve," he started. "You don't understand what it's like in my job, mistakes happen. But if someone is a threat they need to be eliminated."

Eve nodded her head in agreement, looking at the President. "Exactly."

"Lower your gun, Eve."

The red haired girl shook her head. "Don't patronise me," she spoke, anger present in her voice. She let out an angelic smile, one that the President knew well. "I told you we'd see each other again at the grand finale."

"You did," the President said, smiling along with Eve.

He didn't register the bullet crack through his skull, and his body slump to the ground as Eve stood with tears streaming down her eyes as she held the gun in shaking hands. It took a while before people registered what had happened, for a moment there was pure silence on both sides. It was only when Eve fled inside the house did the gunshots and the fighting begin. They would protect her and the house for as long as needed, she knew that. Maybe the Galbadian Army was a lot stronger than the Peace Makers, but they could survive for long enough and that was all that mattered.

She slammed the door to the house, resting her back against it and fighting against the tears that were still freely falling down her face. She vigorously wiped at her eyes, feeling the warmth of the Presidents blood upon her and her mind filled with the vision of him lying eyes open on the ground, shattered skull and blood surrounding him in a puddle. She thought the urge to vomit at the thought of what she'd done. Her entire body was shaking as she stood trying to tell herself that it had to happen. There was no other way around it. This was a sacrifice, people had to die. It was all for a good cause. Yes, it was worth it.

Drawing out a long breath, she slowly made her way up the stairs back to the room where the child lay. The thought of it once again brought excitement running through her. The world would be a much better place once her child had grown up into a strong leader, not tainted with human blood. She wouldn't have to give in to human weakness. That was all that mattered right now, she just needed to collect Miko and the baby and then she could finally get out of this place.

Tucking the gun back into her skirt she opened the door to the room and smiled upon seeing the young baby. Miko gave her a quick cold glance before bringing his eyes back down to the ground. Eve simply walked past him not bothering to inform him what was going on outside. He would only get more afraid and angry if she told him everything that had happened, she didn't need him to be like that right now.

She kept her back turned to Miko, her eyes focussed on the infant on the ground. Rinoa and Squall were huddled together, just like where she left them. "Miko, we're getting out of here. Get your stu-"

Her words were cut short when the was a crash above her head. She fell to the ground, her vision blurring as a pain erupted through her head. Part of a pot fell from her head, and she raised a hand, wincing as it came in contact with a fresh wound at the back of her head. She felt the warmth of her own blood on her fingers, she could feel it clotting in her hair and making its slow trail down her neck.

"You bastard," she whispered as she saw Miko hand Squall his gunblade. She would have got to her feet and attacked him, or even just grabbed the baby and gone by herself, but the throbbing in her head was too much. It made her feel sick. She didn't even bother fighting back as she felt Miko drag her back and hold her against the wall as Squall pointed his weapon to her throat. She could feel the cool tip of his blade on her skin. So be it, she thought. She would bide her time until the moment was right. The wounds would heal, they always did.

"Dad's dead," she spoke simply, looking at Miko. She said the words as if she were telling him anything other than the decease of his father.

Miko's face turned from strong to breaking down in fear in a matter of seconds. "You're lying," he spoke. "I can hear them all outside. Dad's among them."

"Not anymore," she whispered. "They're following our rules now. I got rid of him, Miko. He wasn't making the world any better, he's just as bad as the people he hates."

"And you're not?" Miko shouted. He looked at her for a moment, the girl who had walked into his family's life and presented herself as a sister, a daughter. She was a part of their family. He remembered her scared face the night she turned up at their house, how she seemed afraid of people, she was afraid of everyone. But then she had blossomed into his little sister, and he loved that fact. Of course when things started to change.. When.. Everything happened, she also turned into his lover, promising him a life far better than he could ever imagine. How had she changed so much? How the hell had she forced him to do all of this?

He looked at Eve, no longer wanting her as a younger sister, nor as a lover. "Why all of this?" he asked. Funny how he had gone along with everything, never even questioning why or how. "Of all the things to achieve from this.. A baby? Who the hell gave you that kind of idea?"

She watched from the distance as Eve gave a smile in response, her eyes glazing over in a nostalgic manner. She watched all of this in silence, as Miko and Squall stood over Eve the gunblade still pointing at her throat. Rinoa closed her eyes as the pain between her legs seemed to throb more intensely. She was exhausted, so exhausted, but she didn't dare bring herself to even try and sleep. There was so much going on, so many dangers. From outside she could hear the sound of guns and the shouts of people in the middle of a battle. She didn't know what the hell was going on out there, but she was certain it was just as bad as what was going on inside the house. Maybe it was worse.

She looked down to the baby, and couldn't even begin to comprehend that this was what that horrible feeling inside of her had been. This was her baby. This was what had formed from a pregnancy that had lasted two days? Three days? Maybe longer, she wasn't even sure. She didn't care to think, her mind was only focussed on the fact that this baby shouldn't exist. It didn't belong in a world such as this. It would destroy a world such as this, she could feel it. Her child had already tried to kill her in birth. What else was it capable of at such a young age?

The baby's eyes opened slowly, and Rinoa couldn't help a small gasp at what she saw. It's eyes were not human. They held that same yellow glow she had seen in the eyes of Edea and Ultimecia. She had even seen it in her own eyes during the days when she had murdered so many. And now her child had the same eyes, only these were present even now when she assumed the child wasn't even using its powers. It sent a chilling shiver down her spine, making the hairs on the back of her neck prick up.

In her arms she hugged her pillow against herself as if she would find comfort in the action. It didn't succeed in making her feel any better, the action only made her feel worse as a thought came to her mind. A lot worse. She looked towards the baby, staring into it now wide open eyes as she allowed the thought to wash over her mind once more. This time is seemed more appealing, She pressed the pillow tight against herself, feeling the pressure of her arms against her stomach making it hard to breathe.

She looked back over to the three people at the other side of the room, seeing they were still talking, they still had their focus only on each other and not on Rinoa. Keeping her eyes fixed on them, she placed her pillow with shaking hands beside her, once again pressing her arms against it with the same pressure. She could feel the form of her child below the pillow, it didn't struggle. It was too young and too weak to struggle against her weight. She placed her head softly against the pillow in silence so as not to disturb the others, ignoring the feeling of her child underneath her arms and her head. Best not think about that now. With a tear making its way across her face and down on to the pillow, she kept her gaze on Eve and Miko rather than Squall. She hoped to God, Squall would not turn around and see what she was doing. Letting out a small whimper she tried to keep herself as silent and still as possible as she listened to Eve's story.

"The baby was Ultimecia's idea," Eve revealed watching the two closely. She could see that they were confused, that none of this would make any sense to them unless she told them everything, and deep down she felt the need to reveal all. She had been carrying all of this around with her for so long, not having anyone to turn to. She needed this just as much as them.

"The night my parents tried to kill me, I ran as far away from home as I could. I wasn't really sure where I was going, not really, but somehow I guess my body just took me to the only place I knew I should go. I went to the medical laboratory where I first met Ultimecia when she had healed me of my illness. I demanded to see her, I needed to see her because everything had gone horribly wrong. She listened to what had happened and took me in as her own, she cared for all Sorceresses you see. She saw them as her children, and she would stand by them no matter what.

"Back in them days Ultimecia was a normal person, certainly not the person you fought four years ago. She was a dedicated scientist and even though she wanted results, she still knew right from wrong. Certainly not like that fool of a scientist you call Odine. She was better than him. She taught me things, and shared all of her ideas and experiments with me. I guess I became her apprentice as she shared her intelligence with me. But over time she grew more obsessed with her findings, she tested things on herself because it was hard to find people who were willing enough to risk their lives for science. Evidently some of the drugs she tested on herself backfired giving her side effects, making her more paranoid and obsessive about her work. By the end of my time with her I was the only person who she allowed near her, she said I was the only person she trusted and I had a big role in all of this. She already accepted her fate before she interfered with your time period, she knew she was going to go too far and it was going to kill her. But she continued anyway, the science was her life of course. Without it she'd have nothing.

"I'm not sure what she was trying to achieve when she came four years ago, it certainly wasn't anything she'd ever told me about and by that time she'd become addicted to a few of the drugs she'd created even though they were destroying her, mutilating her body. She sent me away, knowing that I'd be at a danger, but most importantly to finish off her experiment. She let me link with her mind, allowing me to take as much of her energy and powers as I needed to search through time when there were two Sorceresses strong enough to have a baby. She said over the course of time there was a chance that a male could have taken on a Sorceresses powers. So I left her, I followed the path of time that led me to here with you and…"

The young woman trailed off as her attention suddenly looked beyond Squall and Miko. For a moment she was silent, her face changing from confusion to alarm then anger as she pushed the gunblade away from her and leapt towards Rinoa. The two had still been taking in Eve's story, they didn't even realise why she had stopped talking. Upon impulse, Squall lunged at the girl, holding her back. She wasn't going to get to Rinoa. The two men pinned her down to the floor as the screaming hysteric girl struggled beneath them.

"She going to kill her," she screamed. "Get the hell off of me!"

Miko was first to let go as he grabbed at his head, writhing in pain. Squall looked up for a moment confused, but then realised that this was Eve's doing. The woman had got into his head, made a 'link' as she called it, and it went as far as her hurting him if she needed to. She was a lot stronger than he thought she'd be, but he managed to keep her under control. It wasn't until he looked up that he realised why Eve was reacting the way she was, in fact, it almost made Squall want to leap up in the same manner Eve had. It took him a moment to compose himself, he felt disturbed as he watched Rinoa smother her own child with wide eyes as she began weeping when she realised everyone was watching her.

Squall felt Eve's elbow collide with his face, and he drew back in pain before struggling once more to keep her under control. He didn't want to find out what was to happen to Rinoa if Eve got to her. She was killing her own child. He tried to get the thought out of his mind, he had seen the way Miko had responded to seeing the baby, he had seen the way it had tried to kill Rinoa. The look of satisfaction and power it had caused from Eve, this baby was a weapon.

"Miko, help me" Squall shouted as Eve writhed underneath him. The man only struggled on the ground as he clasped his head in pain, he didn't show any signs of hearing Squall. He realised the man would be helpless until Eve got out of his head.

The girl continued to struggle, getting her arms down to her sides where she pulled out the gun and tried to aim at Squall, although the task proved difficult as she was lying face down. Her first shot landed in a nearby wall as Squall forced her arm down to the ground. She was kicking with her legs, hitting when he let go of one arm and would try to shoot if he let go of the other. She moved her hand around frantically so she could point the gun in his direction, she pulled the trigger again, not sure where the gun would be aiming but as she heard his cry from above her and felt his grip loosen on her she saw the bullet had gone in his arm as a trail of blood made it's way to the ground. He ignored the shooting pains that shot through his arm as he still tried to hold her down. He entire body felt weak, his breath was shallow and rapid. He needed to keep her here for Rinoa's safety.

Pulling an arm free, Eve grabbed hard at the wound on his arm, squeezing it tight, making sure Squall could feel the pain. The man yelled out in pain, but she kept her hand squeezing his arm, pushing his fingers into the wound until she was free of his weight on top of her. Once she let go she saw him collapse on the floor clutching his arm, his wound bleeding rapidly now and spilling on to the floor.

Crawling across the floor, Eve made her way to Rinoa and pulled the girl roughly away from the baby. She lifted the pillow and released an angry scream as she saw the baby had been smothered to death, she had come too late. Turning to Rinoa with anger, she yanked to girl to her feet and pulled her to the door of the room. She almost fell over as Squall grabbed at her foot from his position on the ground, but she kicked him hard in the stomach winding him and his grasp was released once more.

"Squall," Rinoa cried, as she was dragged roughly out of the room. It pained her to walk, her stitches were aching, some of them ripping as fresh blood made its way down her legs. She was in agony, no longer able to walk, but still Eve dragged her along. "It hurts," she cried, slipping on the ground as the blood made a pool on the floor.

"Now isn't the time for pain," she yelled. Grabbing Rinoa and pulling her down the stairs. She lost her footing, falling on Eve and bringing them both down the stairs. Eve hit her head on a table at the bottom of the steps, ignoring the pain she dragged the girl to her feet by her hair, feeling pleasure in hearing Rinoa's screams. The stupid bitch had killed her baby. She deserved all the pain she got.

Reaching for the door handle that led outside, she stopped when she heard Squall footsteps running down the stairs. She swung Rinoa and herself around as he got to the bottom, holding her gun against Rinoa's head.

"Stay the fuck away from me, Squall," she warned with shaking hands. Her head still throbbed from Miko hitting her over the head, she felt weak and if she stopped still any longer she feared she would pass out. She had to keep going.

"Just leave Rinoa," Squall shouted. He didn't care about her anymore, he didn't care about what she could do, only that she leave them both alone and he never had to see her again. From the small window beside the door he could see Quistis fighting amongst the Peace Makers just outside the house. So they were all here. They would all be able to go after Eve if anything were to happen. The Galbadian Army were here too.

Eve pressed the gun hard into Rinoa's head, the pressure of it hurting against her skin. She looked frantically from the door then back to Squall, then back to the door again. She pushed Rinoa hard against the wall, making sure she had hurt the girl, before fleeing out of the door and into the battle outside. Squall didn't even bother to go after her. He sat down beside Rinoa who huddled against the wall crying, and held her in his arms. He heard the footsteps of Miko coming down the stairs, holding the dead infant silently in his hands.

Outside the battle still continued, no one noticed Eve slip out of the house. It wasn't until the Peace Makers slowly fled away from the battle until there was none left that the battle stopped. Quistis looked around confused, as she saw the Peace Makers running away in the distance.

"What the hell is with them?" Zell asked.

Quistis shrugged her shoulders defiantly, before looking to Caraway. "Should we go after them?"

The General kept his gaze on the house in front of them, why had Eve been in that house? Why had she killed the President? He looked to the door she had fled in to, where the Peace Makers had heavily guarded, not letting anyone get close. She must be gone, he realised. That would be why they had fled, they were protecting her now.

He turned his gaze back to Quistis and shook his head. "I'll send my men after them," he said. He pointed his head in the direction of the house. "I think your needed here now."

The sight stirred a mixture of reactions in the group of soldiers. Some raised their weapons ready to fight, others looked concerned and confused. But they all stared in disbelief as they saw the three people emerge from the house. Squall had an arm clutched around Rinoa's waist helping her walk down the steps of the house where she collapsed at the bottom, crying into a blanket that held her child that she clutched against her. Miko followed behind slowly, unsure of how to handle the situation. Not really sure what he was supposed to do.

"Lower your weapons," Squall growled at the few soldiers who had raised their weapons. "She's not going to hurt anyone. She needs medical help."

The General, taking charge turned to one of the SeeDs and sent them to get the girl some doctors. He looked at the SeeDs around him, "Your job now is to take care of Rinoa. Let Galbadia sort the rest out."

Quistis and the rest of the SeeDs saluted to the General and his army before watching them make their way through Dollet, following where the Peace Makers had gone. The silence that left was thick as everyone stared at the three people. It was Selphie who was first to break the silence, running towards Rinoa and giving the girl a hug, trying to sooth her tears. Irvine followed shortly after, then Quistis and Zell made their way towards them.

"Are you all okay?" Quistis said as she approached Squall, seeing the wound on his arm and the blood that stained Rinoa's legs.

"No," Squall said simply, his good arm still clutched around Rinoa. As Selphie worked on casting cure spells to help until more medical help could be given, Squall looked around the group, glad to see them again. Glad for all six of them to be together again, at least for now. It was then Squall felt his heart stop.

"Where's Seifer?"

Quistis looked to the ground, "He went to find you after you disappeared," she looked up at Squall, sadness present in her eyes. "He hasn't come back. Do you think something's happened to him?"

"He insisted he went on his own though," Zell spoke up, a realisation hitting him that he certainly hoped wasn't true. "You don't think he was fooling us all along do you? You know like, with Eve being a bad Sorceress and all."

A sudden fear spread over the group. Seifer should have been back by now. Quistis felt herself grow angry, she refused to believe that Seifer would give up everything for a Sorceress again. She wouldn't allow it to happen.

* * *

The fountain at the heart of Dollet came in to view. He looked around him, the streets had all been deserted like he were in a ghost town. It was strange, since only an hour or so ago he had been surrounded by people, by all the noise and the horror which came in a battle. Now there was only calm and silence. He found it comforting yet disturbing at the same time, he never had liked quiet battles. He liked the adrenaline rush that came with a large battle. And now here he was, the echoes of his shoes hitting against the ground seeming to echo amongst the empty town. 

His feet came to a stop when he saw a body fallen on the ground. He looked at it a moment, seeing the fallen man, unsure of whether this person might still be alive. Upon closer inspection he saw the man had a wound on his chest, he was lying in a pool of his own blood. It didn't even seem to surprise him when he realised the body belonged to Ed Wilson, leader of the Peace Makers.

He wondered if the battle was still going on, would his men go on fighting without him? He was sure that they probably would, some of them were just as psychotic as their leader. Those types of people always were, they kept pushing boundaries until they self destruct. He walked past the body, he had never liked the look of Ed and he had no intention at staring at the mans face in death either.

He made his way towards the fountain and sat on its edge, hitting the blade of his gunblade against the ground. He wasn't sure what he was doing here right at this moment in time. A part of him knew that maybe he should have found the others, he evidently hadn't succeeded in finding Squall so he should have gone back to them. But, there was something drawing him away from them and he couldn't place the feeling that was driving him away. He felt drawn to this silent part of town where there was no one else to disturb him apart from the corpse of Ed of course. But it wasn't as if he would disrupt his peace now.

He turned his attention behind him as he heard faint footsteps from behind him. Standing up he looked out for the person who the footsteps belonged too, slightly annoyed that his previous calamity had been broken. He wondered why he didn't feel so surprised at the other presence, it was as if he had been waiting here for something. Like he had some sort of purpose to be here, he could feel it inside of him, as if it were some sort of deja vu.

"Hello Seifer."

The voice came from behind of him, and he turned around to be face to face with a young woman. He was sure that he had heard footsteps from the other direction, he didn't ponder this for long as a slight fear built inside of him at seeing the young Sorceress.

"Thank you for waiting here for me," she spoke, her voice was calm yet her body was covered in blood. Her hair was clotted with crimson from the wound she had on the back of her head, there was a gash above her left eye. Her arms were stained with dried blood, but somehow she carried herself as if nothing had happened to her.

Seifer shrugged his shoulders and gave a small laugh. "I don't know what you think I'm here for, but it certainly wasn't for you," he said, dismissing the woman.

"Then what were you doing here?" she questioned. "Tell me, why would you stray from your SeeDs and follow that urge in your mind if you so desperately want to be accepted by them?"

Seifer looked at her. It didn't shock him to hear her speak to him like that, Ultimecia had once spoken to him in the exact same tone. That was the way Sorceresses spoke to him, in that mocking and questioning voice, trying to anger him and make him give in to them. He gave her a knowing smile, he had been right not to trust her all along. The bitch certainly wasn't as sweet and innocent as she had made out all along.

"I'm not going anywhere with you if that's what you want," he said coldly, turning his gaze away from her and looking back at Ed who lay on the floor. He pointed to the body on the floor, and turned back to her. "I think your Dad's dead."

Ed gave him a soft look, "Do you really think you'll ever fit in with them? You betrayed SeeD the day you took your field exam, you abandoned everyone when they needed you most. Remember what you told me Seifer? You were desperate to be redeemed. Do you think they even care for you, letting you go off on your own? If it were one of them, they'd send someone else with them. I'll let you redeem yourself, Seifer. I'll absolve you everything."

"You'll absolve nothing, missy."

"Look at you," Eve spat out. "You're weak. You're certainly not the same brave Knight Ultimecia once chose."

"If I was weak I'd go along with you," Seifer said, raising an eyebrow at her. "And you're nothing compared to what Ultimecia was, she was far more powerful than you. Look how injured you are now, can you not protect yourself against us humans?"

He looked at her, taking in everything about her. Ultimecia would not have let anyone knock her around like that. He thought back to the parade in Deling City, when she had possessed Edea, she had stopped Irvine's bullet and she wasn't even aware of what was going on. Eve was nothing compared to her. She was hurt, so her reactions weren't half as fast as Ultimecia's. She had shown hardly any powers to anyone, to him it felt almost like an insult for her to ask him.

"But that's what appeals to you isn't it though," Eve responded, stepping closer to him. "You didn't like how strong she was compared to you. You didn't like the lack of control. In your mind you're thinking that it'll be safer with me. You'll have the control that you need because you're stronger than what you was four years ago, but also, I am not half as powerful."

He gave her a small smile. "Someone's been doing her homework," he said. She let out a small gasp as he grabbed her and brought her close to him, his eyes locked into hers as he took in all her beauty. "I want you to show me everything. I want to understand."

Eve gave a warm smile and nodded before placing her hands delicately over Seifer's eyes. There was a brief pain as the world around him disappeared and his mind was filled with only her. He watched the visions unfold before his eyes, he saw what she saw, felt what she had felt throughout her life. The images unfolded themselves as he watched amazed and bewildered. More revelations coming to him, and as she pulled her hands away from her he smiled, understanding what she did.

"Shall we go?" she asked.

Seifer gestured for her to begin walking. "Ladies first," he said watching as she walked away. His couldn't tear his eyes away from her as she walked past him and in front. She made her way away from the fountain, Seifer following behind. A smile graced her lips at what was to come in the future. Rinoa had ruined one of her plans, but that had only been the beginning. She had all the power she needed now, all of the Peace Makers would be waiting for them both to arrive at the exit of the town, then she could do a better job than her father did. All she needed to do now was keep on walking, to get out of here as soon as possible and-

Her thoughts stopped as she felt a sharp pain in her back. She looked down at her stomach, seeing the blade that was protruding through blood staining her clothes. With wide eyes she looked behind her to see Seifer with an arrogant smile on his face, he looked smug but cold at the same time. He wasn't going to show any fear towards her.

"What have you done?" she shouted, falling to the ground.

"The answers still no," he said. He stood above her watching her until she no longer breathed. Until there was once more only silence and calm in this ghost town. There was no one here, apart from the corpse of Ed and Eve, and he doubted any of them would disturb his peace.

_Authors note: Welcome back! I hope nothing tragic happened during your time reading this. Again, appologies for the length! But just think, it's nearly over!_


	22. Chapter 22 Epilogue

The Path Of Time

Epilogue

_How do you let someone go? How do you understand that that's alright, that everything changes? How do you find a way for that to make you feel good about life instead of breaking your heart? The hardest thing you'll ever learn is how to say goodbye._

**Allie Keys _Stephen Spielberg's 'Taken'_**

A cool wind blew across the town causing a slight chill as the sun lowered in the sky, it's amber glow rippled along the surface of the waves out at sea. She crossed her arms over her chest, giving herself a little more warmth. Although the day was still quite warm, the breezes that came were cold. She let the wind play with her lose hair that fell down her back, usually she would keep her hair fixed up, but today she had no effort to do such things. Raising a hand, she pushed her golden locks of hair behind her shoulder, and made her way through the cobbled streets and out to the fishing bay, where as she expected, she saw the man sat on the bench, his eyes fixed on the setting sun in the distance.

Upon seeing the man, she quickened her pace and joined him on the wooden bench. He turned his head in her direction, acknowledging her presence with a curt nod, before once again turning his eyes out to the sea. She herself, found her eyes transfixed on the evening sky reflecting in the surface of the water. She watched the ripples of the water making their slow trail towards them and as she became transfixed, felt that odd sensation like she was moving. It calmed her senses, and she allowed herself to let out a long sigh. Finally she felt like she could relax properly.

"It's a beautiful evening," she said, breaking the silence and turning her attention towards him finally. The man nodded his head slowly, his eyes never leaving the scenery before them. He stayed silent, his eyes looked troubled, a sight that was quite unusual for his character. "You wanted to see me," she said, her hand playing with a lose lock of her hair.

The blonde man nodded silently once more, he couldn't help himself getting lost in the beauty of the day. It felt good to be back to his home, back where he belonged. Tearing his eyes away from the night, he looked at the young woman before him. "Miko died this morning," he said morosely.

He watched as her features dropped slightly, but she didn't seem shocked by the revelation. "When?" was all she needed to say.

"He was found this morning," the blonde responded. "He hung himself."

Another cold breeze blew past the two, and she felt a shiver run through her, although she wasn't quite sure if it were the cold or the reality of the situation. "I guess he already knew his fate," she responded after a moments silence. "After what he did to Rinoa, and aiding Eve, it didn't look good for his future. Even though he helped us in the end, he still did what he did…"

"The poor guy didn't stand a chance," Seifer responded. "And the funny thing is, I don't think of him as a bad person."

Quistis nodded her head. She thought back to the day in Dollet, he had run around doing everything to help people. No one had to force him to be locked away, he had collapsed on the ground and confessed everything he had done to Rinoa, all the bad he had caused before Squall had even had a chance to tell them. What had astounded them most was that neither Squall nor Rinoa had seemed angry. Squall merely sat in silence as the man confessed everything, but it was Rinoa who had shocked them all. She had tore her attention away from the deceased infant and wrapped an arm around Miko. She had handed him the child and told him that she forgave him for what had happened. She only hoped that people could forgive her for everything that she had done. It pained them all to hear the tragic truth, to see Rinoa with her baby, and hand her over to a medic who was to take her away to a morgue.

"He certainly was misguided," she stated, "But I think he thought what he was doing was right at the time, from what I've heard Eve was a very persuasive person. Ed, Eve and Miko, they were all such determined people, it's a shame it was that same passion that killed them."

Seifer nodded his head, ignoring the chill that ran down his spine at the mention of Eve's name. He didn't even want to think of her, but he knew the time had come for him to tell of his final moments with the girl. No one had ever questioned him about what had happened, they only saw that he had defeated her. He never revealed the truth of the situation. He turned to the woman beside him, looking into her blue eyes. "She tried to make me come with her," he responded.

A quizzical look graced Quistis' features as she stared back at Seifer, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"I think she may have influenced my mind as well," Seifer began explaining. "When I didn't find Squall, I should have gone back to the rest of you except something in my mind was drawing me to the fountain. It like, I was waiting for something without ever knowing that I needed to wait. I was just taken there. And when Eve turned up, she wasn't surprised at all that I was waiting there."

Quistis raised an eyebrow finding it odd that no one had ever questioned what had happened between Eve and Seifer. She guessed everyone had assumed he had fought with her and defeated her. Looking at his features, she could tell that he was finding it hard to tell her. He couldn't even look her in the eye anymore, he was trying to, but his gaze always fell to the ground. "And she tried to manipulate you when she saw you?"

Seifer nodded his head, "She just kept saying things, how I'd never be a part of SeeD and making me come with her. And the worst part is, I was tempted. I made her show me everything, I wanted to see what I was getting myself in to. She did this thing with my mind, I could see everything that had happened to her in my mind. She came five years ago, Quistis. That was before Rinoa even became a Sorceress. She's been lying in wait for that long just preparing everything slowly, working her trust with people until she found the right person. Obviously it had to be Miko, but she needed a strong Sorceress to arrive. She wanted me to help her get back to the time she belongs in."

"She can do that using you?"

Seifer shrugged, "I don't think she even knew that yet, but she wanted to go to the moment where Ultimecia sent her back, when she wasn't as twisted and set on time compression. She wanted to Ultimecia to go further forward in our time, so she wouldn't have possessed Rinoa four years ago, she would have possessed Rinoa as soon as the baby was born. Then at least she would have the baby."

Quistis let his words sink in, pushing the thoughts that arose. She didn't like the thoughts that came to mind, it was bad enough the baby being born, there was something not right about the child. She herself had seen the dead infant when Rinoa held it against herself, even though she knew she was looking down at a newborn baby her body wanted her to react like she was looking at something hideous, something terrifying. To have that child and Ultimecia together… she dreaded to think what harm would have come from it. "It's a scary thought," she responded quietly.

"I know," Seifer agreed. "And what makes it scarier for me is I was tempted to go forward and help her do it. It was only when I started walking with her that I came to my senses and realised I'd be throwing my life away. I can't betray people again when they've only just trusted me."

He saw Quistis staring at him, her eyes wide at his last statement. "Why were you even tempted by such a thing?" she asked.

"I… I don't know," he responded. "Don't ask me to explain myself, because I really don't know. I'll understand if you want me to get the hell away from you now."

Quistis placed a hand on his shoulder, so he turned to look at her. "You're a fool Seifer, you always will be," her words were cold, but he could see the features on her face softening slightly as she gave a small smile. "But you did what was right anyway, that's all that matters. I'm sure we're all tempted by things we shouldn't be at times, but unless we act upon them, it doesn't make us bad people."

Seifer looked down towards the ground, his mind focussed on the warmth of her hand against his shoulder. "Maybe," he said unconvinced. He looked towards Quistis, concern on his face. "How's Rinoa doing?"

Quistis let out a sigh, taking her hand off Seifer's shoulder and placing in her lap, joining her other hand. "She's seriously damaged, Eve pretty much mutilated her making her give birth when she wasn't at the right stage of labour. Her stitches didn't help anything either, and because of Miko she's had internal bleeding. She's needed surgery, it was safer for her to have a hysterectomy. The Doctors have said she was lucky she didn't bleed to death."

Balling his fist, Seifer tried to control the anger that was building inside of him. He hated what Eve had done to her. "Damn," was all he managed to say. "That's seriously going to mess with her head as well."

"I went to see her yesterday and she seemed a little better," Quistis said. "I'm not sure she's going to be the same Rinoa we all love after this, but when she's well enough to come back to Balamb we're all going to try and make things as good for her as possible. You should come along too, I'm sure she wouldn't mind seeing you."

"I will do," Seifer said, looking out back towards the now darkening sky. He could see the first stars in the sky as the sun lowered, its colours now a burning red. Rinoa hadn't even had chance to come back to Balamb, there wasn't enough time to bring her back to Garden. He remembered when he had finally joined the group after leaving Eve, she had been so pale. Where she sat on the steps there was a pool of blood forming around her. She'd passed out before they'd even managed to bring her to the hospital in Dollet. Since then she'd been bed ridden, the doctors fearing her damaging herself even more if she moved around too much. It had been a just over a week since that fateful day in Dollet, yet it seemed so far away and so close at the same time. He didn't like thinking back to those days. He didn't like the realisation that he had nearly given in to Eve, and a part of him hated himself for even getting involved in everything again.

He was taken away from his thoughts as he heard Quistis shiver beside him when another cool breeze blew past them. "It's getting a little cold," he pointed out. "We should probably walk back."

Quistis nodded her head, and they both stood from the bench making their way away from the beautiful scenery behind them. She held her arms firmly around herself, and looked towards Seifer. "What do you plan to do with yourself now?" she asked. "I'm not sure if you want the offer, but you should know there's a place for you at Garden if you still want it. And Cid still wants to talk to you, he still feels awful about what he did to you all those years ago."

Seifer shrugged, feeling himself stiffen at the mention of Cid's name. "I'll talk to him when I want. I don't want to face the old man anytime soon," he said firmly. He paused for a moment, looking towards the purple sky above him. "I've realised SeeD isn't for me, I'm not going back to Garden."

"So you're giving up fighting then?" Quistis said, shocked by his response. She thought that he'd want a chance to be back where he was before he messed everything up. Seeing how much he'd changed and how well he fought when they were in Dollet, even Trabia, she was shocked at his answer.

"Not quite," Seifer responded, a smirk on his face. "I'm following in Fujin and Raijin's footsteps."

"The police?"

Seifer nodded his head. "I figured its safer for me to solve crimes rather than making them. With SeeD there'd always be a chance that I'd be confronted with a Sorceress, and right now, the only Sorceress I don't mind facing is Rinoa. I don't want to be tempted again."

Quistis nodded her head, slowing her pace as they approached the hotel where Seifer was staying. She stopped outside and stayed in a brief uncomfortable silence. Quistis couldn't help the smile form on her face as she looked at him.

"What?" Seifer asked, confused at he reaction.

Letting out a small laugh, she turned to face him. "I never thought I'd say this, but everyone is really proud of you Seifer. Since we got back from Dollet, you've been the new gossip going around Garden. The students that fought with you at Trabia and Dollet have been saying you're a hero, just like Squall, they really look up to you. It's a shame you can't come back to Garden, but I wish you all the luck in the future."

Feeling quite shocked by her words, Seifer stared at Quistis for a moment, hardly believing what he'd heard. "Well, thank you," he responded awkwardly. "Lets hope they don't try to be the same sort of student as me though."

"Lets hope not," Quistis said with a laugh. "I'll see you around, Seifer."

Seifer nodded, placing a hand gingerly on her arm. He let it rest there for a moment before pulling it away again. "Take care."

The blonde turned on her heels and slowly made her way through the streets of Balamb. He watched helplessly as he walked away, a strange feeling washing over him. He wasn't sure what he felt. All he could think was, is that is? His journey with SeeD and Quistis over. It all felt so sudden, he didn't feel quite ready for it to end just yet. What else did he have left to achieve though? Shaking his head, he turned and made his way to the doors of the hotel feeling the warmth of the hotel. He stopped in his tracks, again the same feeling coming over him. It felt odd. It felt like he wanted to…

"Dammit," Seifer said under his breathe, he punched the wall beside him angry as his foolishness. He had to run to catch up with the blonde woman, but luckily she had been taking a slow stroll back to the Garden. "Quistis, wait."

The blonde turned around, alarmed to see him rushing towards her. Had something happened? "What's wrong?" she asked.

Seifer looked at Quistis intently for a moment, suddenly feeling very stupid. What the hell? He had nothing to lose now, did he? "Will you go to dinner with me?" he asked, all the time hating how soft he sounded. He watched as Quistis' blue eyes widened, her reaction making him feel even more foolish. "You can say no if you want, I don't know. It was just an idea. I know I'm an ass but-"

"Seifer," Quistis said, hushing the man. "I'd love to."

"You would?"

She nodded her head. "When?"

Seifer thought for a moment. "Tomorrow?"

"Same place, same time?" Quistis helped. She could see this was difficult for him, right now she'd never seen the fearless Seifer Almasly look so uncomfortable.

"Sure," Seifer nodded.

Quistis gave a small laugh, shaking her head at the way he was acting. She smiled brightly at him before turning and continued walking back to Garden. "Goodnight Seifer," she called over her shoulder.

* * *

It was a horrible thought, having a funeral with no people to attend and pay their respects. But as they sat on the bench and watched the scenery unfold before them, they saw that this was the case. It was a sad sight to see. They watched as a group of men carried the casket through the cemetery to where it was slowly lowered into the grave. The undertakers taking it in their liberty to stand silently as the priest said a prayer for the deceased who had no family, no friends to see him off into the next life. No one ever wanted that kind of ending.

The couple on the bench sat silently watching the funeral take place. They were both wearing black, formal attire that was expected at a funeral, except they weren't present there. Not just yet. It was Rinoa's decision, she had wanted to go to the funeral to pay her respects. She had said she needed to do it, that she couldn't pretend that nothing had happened. Leaning her head against Squalls shoulder, she squeezed his hand tighter as she watched two of the men walk away and come back with another casket. This one didn't need six men like the other, for it was considerably small. It was an infants coffin, a sight that never ceased to bring a sadness over her. Today though, seeing the sight of such a tiny box, it broke her heart.

As she watched them lower the small box into the same hole as the other coffin, she felt a tear fall down her face. This was a funeral for both a father and daughter. She sobbed silently. That was her daughter being buried. It was Miko, the one person who had shown her both fear and kindness, who had his daughter's casket placed on top of his. They were to go together.

Squall stroked Rinoa's face tenderly, looking ahead of him. He wasn't even sure how he felt right now. He had never known how he had felt towards Miko, his first impressions evidently being anger at what he had done to Rinoa. He had raped her, he had seriously injured her. But there was also a gentle kindness to the man, it was odd, but no one seemed to hate him. No one seemed to blame him for anything, not even Squall could place the blame on Miko. The man had merely been a pawn to Eve, somehow the girl had forced him to do such a horrific thing. Somehow she had made him think what he was doing was right.

He felt a tear land on his hand as Rinoa let out a quiet sob. Seeing her upset, he pulled her into a tight embrace hoping somehow it could comfort her. Her opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He wasn't sure what words he could say right now, he knew there was nothing to say. Regardless of being a Sorceress or not, it was Rinoa's child that was being buried. She was the one who had to watch the child she gave birth to be lowered into the ground. There was nothing anyone could say to make that better.

Rinoa watched with wide eyes as the priest who stood by the grave once again said a few words, though she couldn't make out what he was saying. She tried to listen, but his words were barely heard. A part of her wanted to be stood there beside the men, but she felt afraid to go near them, as if just by looking at her they'd see what she had done. They'd see what an awful mother she was. It was something that haunted her, she'd had dreams over the last few weeks, dreams of being suffocated. Of seeing those awful yellow eyes that stared up at her as she placed the pillow over them, covering them up for the last time. She always woke up clutching at her throat and struggling to breathe.

She wasn't sure if anyone else knew what she had done to her child. None of them had said anything, Squall had remained quiet, the incident remaining unspoken to them as if it had never happened. She guessed that the others knew though, they had all felt the power that had come from the baby. And they had all seen Rinoa with the dead baby in her arms. Sometimes she had noticed them giving her curious glances, as if wondering something, but they never spoke their thoughts out loud. They tried to stay positive for her, she couldn't even comprehend how they managed to do so. Why weren't they afraid of her? She was petrified of herself, so surely they should be too.

The men stood around the grave still and silent for a moment before turning and leaving the deserted funeral. As they left, they all passed Squall and Rinoa who sat on the bench still embracing each other. One of the men gave them a small nod as he made his way past the couple and they watched as all of the men left cemetery.

"Are you ready?" Squall asked, looked down at Rinoa.

Taking in a shaky breath she pulled herself away from Squall slightly so she could look him in the eye. "Will you come with me?" she asked, her voice quiet. Neither had spoken much the entire day, the situation was something both understood without needing to speak words. He was here with her, that was all she needed. She didn't need useless talks on how all of this was going to get better, right now she didn't want to here to clichés. And she was grateful Squall wasn't making the effort to give her any.

Squall nodded his head. "Of course."

Standing from the bench, Rinoa made her way slowly towards the open grave. She grabbed hold of Squall's hand tightly, suddenly needed comfort from him. She needed the reassurance that she was still here, that this was still real and not some sort of horrible nightmare that she was still trying to wake up from. She stopped in her tracks as she approached the edge of the ground, that fell down into the hole where Miko and her baby lay. She looked down at them, seeing the delicately polished caskets and feeling another wave of sadness come over her. She closed her eyes tight, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. Now was the time to be strong, she needed to say goodbye, there was enough time to breakdown later.

Opening her eyes once more, she put a hand in her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper and read the words on it once more. Although she had read it thousands of times since she had received it, the words still put a shiver down her spine. She had received it a week ago, the day after Miko had killed himself. She had been told the prison officer who had found him had found it on the floor of his cell. It had been placed neatly in an envelope with Rinoa's name on it. And she had kept it with her ever since, his words were simple, but they had been enough for Rinoa. Once again her eyes hit the piece of paper, observing his handwriting, his final words.

'_Rinoa,_

_Let me take care of Emily now, I want her to stay close to me. I'm sorry for everything, I hope you can forgive me. Most importantly, you need to learn to forgive yourself for everything. _

_Please don't blame yourself anymore.'_

Emily. He had named their daughter for them just before death. Rinoa herself hadn't even thought of giving the infant a name, after what she had done to her, what right did she have? It comforted her yet made everything feel so much worse at the same time, having a name. Emily was now officially her deceased daughter, her murdered daughter. She was no longer a nameless memory, which made everything so much worse. Since she had come to terms with the name, she found herself thinking more about what her daughter could have become. What if Rinoa was wrong? Perhaps she had been powerful, but couldn't they have brought her up in a normal world and not a destructive one? It made her think of all the things her daughter could have achieved, she could have turned the power around and helped so many people. She could have been so much. And what right did Rinoa have to take that away from her? What had she done?

A tear fell down her cheeks as the guilt consoled her. This wasn't the time for crying now, she needed to do this. She needed to face up to what she'd done and somehow move on from all of this. She wasn't quite sure how, but she knew that's what she needed to do. "I'm sorry Emily," she whispered, her lip quivering as she forced the tears to stay back. "I'm so sorry."

From beside her she felt Squall tenderly place his arm around her waist. He didn't try to pull her close to him, even though that was all he wanted to do right now, but he knew that she needed to do this alone. He was merely here in the background, to give her that little bit of comfort when she needed that and he understood that.

Rinoa played with the piece of paper in her hands, her eyes transfixed on the two coffins. "I never blamed you for anything," she said, thinking of Miko. Even if it was too late, it still felt a slight relief to speak the words out loud. She felt like a great weight was being lifted from her. Holding her hand out, she let the piece of paper ripple lightly in her hand from the wind, before letting go of his note. She watched as it slowly made its slow decent and landed on top of the coffins. "Take care of her for me."

For a moment she stayed in silence, thinking about his last plea to her. Could she really forgive herself for what she had done? She thought of all the people she had hurt, all of the lives she had taken. And of all the times she had enjoyed seeing them die in pain. Regardless of Eve being a part of her behaviour, Eve was not the one who had made her enjoy it. Eve wasn't the one who made her still wake up sometimes in the night just yearning to feel that same feeling of power, as she felt her own energies pumping through her veins. What she couldn't forgive was that deep down she knew she still had that yearning. Why when she still felt like this, was she the only one who was spared?

It was her father's idea. He had joined the SeeD's the night after the attack briefing them on the days events. According to the rest of the world, Eve was the Sorceress behind everything. She had possessed Rinoa and used her as a pawn. Miko had even given a written report to state that this was true. They had all silently agreed that this was the truth from now on, not to reveal what had really happened. She doubted that any of them would mention it ever again, it was too much of a difficult subject to bring up, so it was just swept away under the carpet. Eve was dead, and the danger was now gone. That was all that mattered to them. Still, Rinoa couldn't help feeling even worse because of how it had turned out. She had never asked for special treatment, why should she deserve it? It all just made her feel worse, and looking down at the grave below her feet a part of her felt that maybe she belonged down there with them. But she wasn't, she was here out in the real world and living with the truth of what had happened.

Letting out a sigh, she tried to bring her mind out of such negative thoughts and returned her attention back on Miko and Emily. The two people she met for only a brief moment of her life, but they were two people she honestly knew she would never forget. And now she had to leave them to continue with her life and act like the normal person she was before any of this ever happened. She doubted she ever could be the same again, somehow the world seemed a lot more darker, a lot more sinister than it had before all of this. Once she had been so innocent, so lost in her own little world that she didn't realise how easy it was to go down the wrong path. The most worrying part, was that she didn't even realise until it was too late to turn back.

"I'll try to forgive myself," she said finally, her thoughts thinking of Seifer. Somehow she felt closer to him, she felt now that they had a lot more in common than they ever had. Perhaps he wasn't quite the malicious Sorceress, but he had aided one and been a part of the fear. Now he seemed to be back, he seemed to be redeemed. She wondered if she could ever be at that stage. She wondered if deep down Seifer ever forgave himself for what he had done, or if the past still bore down on him. Either way, she hoped she could one day be at the same stage Seifer was. But the first stage was to get past all of this.

Rinoa turned to Squall then, a curious look in her eye. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped abruptly and she wrapped her arms tightly around him. He seemed a little startled by her sudden actions, but quickly returned the gesture, finding comfort in the fact that she was finally here with him again. It was Rinoa. She was actually here. He rested his head on hers and stroked her hair tenderly. They stayed there for a long time, enjoying the comfort of finally being able to be in each others arms. They didn't care if they were in the middle of a cold graveyard, all that mattered was that for this moment, they had each other.

It was Rinoa who was first to pull away, though she kept her hands held loosely around him. "Squall, if this ever gets too much for you I want you to be honest and tell me. I'll understand." She watched as Squall's expression changed. He shook his head and opened his mouth to speak but she placed a hand over his mouth. "I know you want to be brave and everything, but I want you to know it's okay to be scared and freaked out by everything. I know I am."

Squall looked at Rinoa, he wanted to tell her that it didn't scare him and that everything was going to be perfectly fine from now on, but he knew that was not the case. "It'll be tough," he admitted, his eyes drifting to the ground. "And yeah, sometimes when I think about everything that happened it scares me. A lot. But I'm going to stand by you no matter what. I lost you for six months, I don't want to lose you again."

Rinoa gave him a smile he had not seen in a long time, the simple action make his world melt away. He raised a hand and stroked her face, thanking whatever was out there that he had her back again, and she was finally safe. The simple action told him so much, that she was really going to be okay. That even though she was still deeply disturbed by everything that had happened, she was going to get through this. They could make this right again. He pulled Rinoa close to him, enjoying the warmth of her against him. He watched as she turned her attention back to Miko and Emily, a sad look in her eyes.

"Goodnight," she said softly to them both. Her eyes lingered over the grave a little longer, before she began walking again. She rested her head against Squall's shoulder as they left the cemetery. The tears she had been fighting back for so long came to the surface and she wept in Squall's arms. She cried for the people she had killed, she cried for Miko and Emily, the daughter who never got a chance at life. But she also cried because she knew she needed to be forgiven, but she wasn't yet ready for that to happen. Not yet, but sometime in the future maybe everything would be okay.

_Authors note: I hope the ending wasn't too rubbish, or the entire story for that matter. Just thought I'd say thank you so much for all of the support! It means a lot! If anyone cares to read anything else from me, sometime within the next week I shall be starting my new story which is going to be called 'A Battle of Land and Sea'. You heard it here first! But yes, it has been a few two.. almost three years maybe? So thank you, thank you so much._


End file.
